REGION 10 DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE — January 2024
The clock strikes 12:00, and I hear distant sounds of fireworks, people cheering, and singing of the familiar tune, “Auld Lang Syne”. Officially, 2023 is now over and we welcome 2024.
Happy New Year to all IEEE members and families!
A question comes up in my mind – “Why do humans celebrate New Year?”
Isn’t it just another day, another sunrise, and another sunset?
ChatGPT gave me the following answer:
“Humans celebrate the New Year as a cultural and symbolic way to mark the end of one year and the beginning of another. It often involves reflection, setting goals, and expressing hope for positive change. The celebration signifies a fresh start and the passage of time.”
In other words, we celebrate New Year, just because we are humans, and we can!
No other species celebrates with the passage of time, having the ability to reflect, set goals and have a positive outlook for the future! We should be grateful that we are capable of celebrating every New Year.
IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organisation dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, through publications, conferences, development of technology standards, and professional and educational activities.
Just like celebrating New Years, we choose to be members and volunteers of IEEE, because we can, because we believe, and because we agree to advance the mission and vision of IEEE, for the benefit of humanity!
At this moment, my term as the IEEE Region 10 Director is at half-time, and I am on my way to completing my service in the next 12 months.
I take this time to reflect, set goals and express my hope for positive change for the Region.
I am honoured and fortunate, to have the opportunity to work with an amazing team of dedicated and experienced volunteers and leaders, serving over 181K members in the Asia-Pacific Region in different IEEE Organisational Units (members of the R10 ExCom are listed in the IEEE R10 Website).
Over the past 12 months, R10 has had a healthy growth in membership numbers. In Nov 2023, we achieved a total growth of 17% compared to the same month in 2022. There have been many activities and projects executed by various committees in R10, under the leadership of respective Committee Chairs, and coordination by three R10 Vice-Chairs. During the Flagship R10 conferences – TenSymp, TenCon and R10 HTC, various committees have conducted activities such as R10 HTA Impact Congress, Industry Conclave, Interactive Training on Climate Change …etc.
A R10 Section Chapter Symposium has been held together with R10 Conference Leaders Training Program at Goa, India. The R10 Robotic Competition was held for the second year at Bangkok, Thailand. The R10 Young Professionals Committee conducted R10 Internship Program, CLAP (Career and Leadership Aid Program), and GEMS (Grow, Engage, Master and Succeed) Volunteer Training Program, while the R10 Student Activities Committee (SAC) held the R10 Student Summit at 7 host Sections. The Educational Activities Committee (EAC) ran several innovative workshops on Learning Computational Intelligence for Pre-U and Undergraduate students. The workshops were run in virtual synchronous mode at locations including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia and Korea. The popular online R10Talk has consistently attracted registrations of over 100s. Another major achievement was the launch of the Ethics Champion initiative in raising awareness of ethics among the members. The exercise has engaged over 12K members with the distribution of 6000+ physical pins, recognising the participation by the members.
There are many more not mentioned above and detailed reports of these activities from the committees will be available in the R10 website, after the Annual Meeting in March.
For 2024, R10 will remain steadfast on the focus of inspiring, enabling, empowering, and engaging members of IEEE. The R10 committees are charged with fulfilling the aims and objectives of their respective units. In addition, the Region will aim to continue raising of awareness of ethics. Management of enterprise risks will be included. A project will be initiated to examine and review Section Bylaws to ensure their compliance with the MGA Operation Manual. A review of Sections may also be carried out. Such objectives will be carried out by a number of AdHoc Committees to be established in the coming months.
Beyond 2024, preparation for the Region Realignment in 2028 will require substantial efforts from volunteers and IEEE in the coming years. This will include the establishment of a management framework, governing documents, financial arrangements, development of new flagship events in the new regions, and regional communication…etc.
While much work is needed, it is expected that realignment will provide additional volunteering opportunities and new innovative programs to serve the community. Considering the population size, and expected improvement of economic conditions in many countries in the Region, the membership numbers are expected to grow continuously in the new regions. Without a doubt, the outlook of IEEE in Region 10 will remain to be healthy and positive in the coming years.
For many of us, life after the New Year celebration will return to normality, with ongoing work, deadlines, and regular daily routines.
Similarly, the Region will commence the 2024 projects soon.
Do watch this space for the Call and Announcements, and take the opportunities to serve and participate, and be part of IEEE to fulfill the mission of advancing technologies for the benefit of humanity!
All the above could only happen with the services of volunteers and leaders within the Region and their works are greatly appreciated.
Once again, Happy New Year, and I wish everyone a successful and productive 2024!
Lance Fung
IEEE Region 10 Director 2023-2024
1st January 2024