IET India update

Academic brainstorming

Representatives from over 20 academic institutions came together in Chennai at the beginning of the month at an IET India-organised faculty advisors meeting for student chapter co-ordinators, pictured above.

Serving as a platform for IET India staff and academics to discuss plans for the forthcoming academic year, those present were also introduced to recently launched IET products and services, such as the Graduate Advantage programme, Academic Affiliate programme and the Corporate Partnership programme. Those present were particularly enthusiastic about two key activities planned for later this year: the IET India Scholarship Award and the Job Fair for engineering students.

Branding

A workshop on IET brand guidelines introduced Local Network stakeholders to the essentials of branding and the importance of consistency in brand communications. The event also served as an opportunity to conduct a brand guidelines workshop. Participants found the workshop highly useful, actively taking part in the discussions.

S. Indulal, assistant professor of electrical and electronics engineering at the College of Engineering Trivandrum, described the range of activities within his college student chapter, as well as sharing ideas on member recruitment.

Chairman of the Young Professionals Section, L. Ramesh, shared the success story of the Chennai Local Network, urging members to continue to actively engage with the IET to strengthen their academic careers. Talking from his own experiences, he highlighted the innumerable opportunities that the IET presented to its members to enrich their knowledge whilst at the same time connecting with peers and members of industry at both local and international levels.

The meeting ended on a positive note with faculty co-ordinators agreeing to recruit around 1700 new student members from their respective institutions to create a stronger IET student member base.

Volunteer Conference 2012

Bangalore is playing host to the prestigious South Asia Community Volunteers Conference (CVC) this year. Being held on 4 and 5 August, the event is just around the corner, with members of the organising committee busily adding the final touches to the proceedings. Volunteers from across South Asia will converge at the exotic Confident Amoon Resort for the two-day conference.

In keeping with the conference theme of ‘Inspire, Engage, Grow’, the agenda has been tailored to facilitate the exchange of ideas and success stories, while also celebrating the outstanding spirit of the IET volunteering community. The event also aims to empower volunteers by providing insights on the IET’s latest developments, introducing them to new tools and resources to help communities grow.

IET Pride 2012

A Rewards & Recognition programme for IET India volunteers is also being unveiled at the Community Volunteer Conference. Here’s a preview of the award categories:

• Pride Process Star: for the Local Network committee demonstrating best process compliance.
• Pride Recruiter: for the volunteer who has enrolled the maximum number of regular members to the IET.
• Pride Champ: for the Student Chapter Coordinator demonstrating enthusiasm and initiative in student member engagement and retention.

PATW finals

The stage is set once again for the Present Around the World (PATW) competition with young engineers returning to compete for the top honours at the South Asia Regional Finals on 2 August. The winner will take home prize money, and will also represent South Asia at the PATW global finals in London.

PATW is open to IET members and non-members alike with participants delivering a ten-minute presentation on an engineering topic. The emphasis is on presentation skills, enabling competitors at varying levels of their studies or career to participate on an equal footing.

We’ll return with a detailed report of the events and winners in our next update.