Q&A WITH JACEK ZURADA – Vice President of Technical Activities
Q: Why is Sections Congress important? (to you and to the overall IEEE community)
A: Sections Congress is a unique event that not only brings together every 3 years all IEEE Sections Chairs to one location, but also builds a close synergy between two main spaces of the Institute. These are geographical units (Sections) which are spread across the globe, and the technical units (Societies and Technical Councils) that each represent a major technology within the field of interest of IEEE. The Congress is important because it directly connects the two halves.
Q: How has TA assisted in the development/expansion of Sections Congress 2014?
A: Our primary objective at the 2014 Sections Congress has been to further the cooperation between the Member and Geographic Activities on one side and the Technical Activities on the other. Our message to Section leaders is to inform them of our exciting on-going technical activities. Several attractive new presentations, including select technology-focused audiovisuals, are featured by Technical Activities this year to present opportunities that exist to tighten TA collaborations with Chapters and Sections. The opportunities have included “must-have” technologies.
Q: What have you learned from leading the TA effort?
A: Our Sections Congress Organizing Committee that consists of several volunteers and is supported by a dedicated team of two or three staff members has done a great job in proposing and implementing Technical Activities presence at the Congress. They have worked closely with the TAB Management Committee to receive the best guidance. In addition, the TAB Presidents’ Forum has been used to recruit a group of several dozen enthusiastic volunteer speakers.
Meet Tom McKee, Closing Ceremony Keynote Speaker
The closing ceremony keynote speaker for this year’s Sections Congress is a distinguished volunteer management speaker and is highly regarded as one of the best international authorities on volunteer management. Tom has previously worked in association management, education, and motivational speaking. Tom McKee will be speaking during the Closing Ceremony on Sunday. Tom will also be a speaker at 2 breakout sessions, presenting each session one time each day – Tips and Tricks for Getting Young Professionals to Volunteer and Recruiting and Volunteer Succession Planning.