IEEE Education Week Offered Hundreds of Learning Opportunities

IEEE members across the globe came together to celebrate the first-ever IEEE Education Week from 4 to 8 April. The weeklong celebration highlighted educational opportunities provided by IEEE and its many organizational units. More than 60 IEEE operating units, regions, sections, and technical societies offered live events, virtual resources, special offers, and a daily online quiz that awarded a digital badge for participants who answered correctly.

Education Week was a chance to show the collective impact IEEE has on lifelong learning and education at every level," says Jamie Moesch, managing director, Educational Activities. From preuniversity STEM programs and university offerings to continuing professional education courses and tutorials, there are so many ways to engage with education from IEEE. This week was about bringing all those resources together in one place and making sure our members know about all of the amazing educational opportunities available to them."

The celebration highlighted resources for:

• Engineers and professionals working in technical fields.
• University students and faculty members.
• Anyone looking for preuniversity STEM education resources and experiences to encourage the next generation of engineers and technologists.

Events included:

• A webinar featuring IEEE President K.J. Ray Liu that illustrated how lifelong learning opportunities are among the reasons IEEE is the professional home for hundreds of thousands of members across the globe.
• A series of live virtual events offered by the IEEE Education Society that covered topics of importance to academic faculty, such as online learning solutions, insight into the requirements of publishing educational research work in journals, and a step-by-step road map for instructors who want to move their traditional curricula to the online learning management environment required by their institution.
• An IEEE TryEngineering Tuesday webinar-a collaboration between the IEEE Communications Society and IEEE Educational Activities-that featured Lola Awoniyi-Oteri, principal systems research and development engineer with Qualcomm, who discussed her research in extended reality and 5G.
• The IEEE Romania Section offered a webinar that focused on the sustainability of engineering education and the role IEEE plays in supporting student training. It included a discussion on online and offline education, how to train future engineers, and ways to attract young people to study engineering.
• The IEEE Low Earth Orbit Satellites & Systems project held a panel discussion to address the importance of space education for high school students.
• The IEEE DKTE (Dattajirao Kadam Technical Education Society) student branch offered a live event led by the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology Madras Section that discussed IEEE learning resources available to engineering students.
• The IEEE Foundation hosted an online panel that addressed where and how the philanthropic organization supports educational programs across the globe.

For both young technical professionals and those who are more established in their fields, taking the time to learn new skills in this age of hybrid and remote working can help their careers flourish," says Stephen Phillips, vice president, IEEE Educational Activities.

The IEEE Antennas, Propagation, Microwave Theory, and Techniques student branch chapter at the Indian Institute of Technology, in Kharagpur, celebrated IEEE Education Week at Hijli College, in West Bengal, India. On 9 April, they led a hands-on session on how to use basic electronic components like resistors, switches, buzzers, wires, breadboards, and DC battery sources. Pallab Kumar Gogoi

IEEE Education Week highlighted all of the preuniversity STEM, university, and continuing professional education resources for students, engineers, and technical professionals," says Babak Beheshti, chair of the IEEE Educational Activities continuing education committee. As the private sector ramps up hiring, many are looking for candidates who have skills in emerging technologies. IEEE's educational offerings directly address this increasing need."

Save the date for next year's IEEE Education Week, to be held from 2 to 8 April. Follow updates on social media via #EducationAtIEEE and sign up for email updates at educationweek.ieee.org.

The inaugural event also boasts some impressive stats:

225 events.
102 resources provided.
90 volunteer ambassadors from 23 countries.
Participation by 65 operating units, regions, sections, and technical society partners.
434 quiz submissions.
80 digital badges issued.
Visitors from 99 countries.
US $5,975 donated to the IEEE Foundation to support educational programs.