IEEE Is Realigning Its Geographic Regions

A major step in restructuring IEEE's regions was taken during the November IEEE Board of Directors meeting, in which the Board approved the proposed region realignment as outlined in The Institute's September article IEEE Is Working to Reconfigure Its Geographic Regions".

IEEE has been working to restructure its 10 geographic regions to provide a more equitable representation across its global membership.

Some of the factors that were considered when evaluating the realignment were membership counts, geographic locations, time zones, and providing the best overall experience for members.

During the IEEE Board meeting, the vice president of Member and Geographic Activities, David Koehler, presented MGA's progress and the proposed region realignment.

The plan's approval is the first of many steps. It allows for the consolidation of the six U.S.-based regions into five, joining together current IEEE Region 1 (Northeastern U.S.) and Region 2 (Eastern U.S.) and the splitting of current IEEE Region 10 (Asia and Pacific) into two regions.

Those regional changes will be effective in January 2028.

In addition, the Board formally approved the concept of zones and zone representatives. A zone is a substructure within a region with a significant number of members. Four zones were approved in November: two in Region 8 (Africa, Europe, Middle East) and two in Region 10, which became effective in January

In those larger regions, zone representatives can assist in the region and provide an additional voice for members within the region as well as represent them on the MGA board.

MGA is continuing its work on the planned region realignment to ensure all the appropriate steps are taken to make the transition.

This article appears in the March 2023 print issue.