IEEE Technical Activities and Educational Activities Team Up Supporting STEM

Many of IEEE’s Societies, Councils, and Technical Communities are engaged in efforts to build the next generation of engineering professionals by supporting STEM outreach activities in their unique technology areas. By doing so, this reach provides students with an introduction to these specific technologies and fosters an interest for future engagement.

Over the past year, IEEE Educational Activities and IEEE Technical Activities have partnered on several projects to bring exciting STEM outreach activities to students worldwide.

Environmental Service Projects in Specific Fields of Interest

For university students, EPICS in IEEE partnered with the IEEE Solid-State Circuit Society, the IEEE Antenna & Propagation Society, and the IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society, as well as the IEEE Standards Association to fund environmental service learning projects in the Societies’ fields of interest. In May 2024, the IEEE Industry Applications Society will be the featured partner of the May 1 Call for Proposals. The partnership allows EPICS in IEEE to fund additional projects while allowing the Society to engage in meaningful mentoring activities, and to see successful student projects engaging their members to use innovative technology to benefit their community. Read more about EPICS in IEEE here.

IEEE Eta-Kappa Nu (HKN) Partnering with Societies

There are more than 270 IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) chapters around the world. IEEE’s honor society partners with Technical Societies frequently to bring outstanding students to their future professional home, and to introduce Societies to future members. Technical Societies partner with IEEE-HKN to support their Student Leadership Conference and Pathways to Industry Conference, where volunteers provide learning sessions and guidance to young people. The annual IEEE-HKN Tech-X Conference, taking place 17-19 April 2024, highlights the work of IEEE’s Technical Societies for IEEE-HKN members and others. The conference will feature a keynote by Fred Schindler, VP of IEEE Technical Activities, followed by a special networking session where students and young professionals are encouraged to “find their technical home.”  In addition to conferences, Society partnerships with IEEE-HKN include advertising and Society Spotlights featured in the BRIDGE Magazine, which reaches close to 30,000 readers, custom podcasts, targeted newsletters, and listings on HKN’s website.

TryEngineering: Inspiring the Engineers of Tomorrow

A number of societies have partnered with IEEE TryEngineering in the past year to develop new content and provide funds for activities in local communities. Through a partnership with the IEEE Signal Processing Society, an introductory video was developed to introduce students to Signal Processing technology. Curated resources and the introductory video can be found on the TryE- SPS Partnership page. A similar page was created for the Ocean Engineering Society, with plans for a new lesson in development. The IEEE Communication Society partnered with TryEngineering to make a collection of hands-on activities available to volunteers and educators engaged in STEM outreach activities. These activities can be found on the TryEngineering – Communication Society partnership page, along with a video that introduces communication concepts to school-aged children.

In addition to providing scholarships for the TryEngineering Summer Institute, Societies provided funds for TryEngineering STEM grants in 2024, allowing volunteers to provide engaging activities to 12 projects in the Societies’ fields of interest. In 2023, the Communication Society, in partnership with TryEngineering provided funding for a student branch in India to provide IoT Workshop: Learn, Create, Innovate, a workshop that introduced school-age children to communications technology.To learn more about partnering with IEEE Educational Activities’ Student and Academic Education Programs, which include EPICS in IEEE, IEEE-HKN, and IEEE TryEngineering, contact Debra Gulick ().