Khanh Luu

On January 2013 the first IEEE Entrepreneurs Network (EN) within R8 was established in Cyprus under the IEEE Cyprus Section. The idea of implementing such a Network in Cyprus initiated by the conclusion that current economic crisis is considered by many as a great barrier towards economic growth and employability, whereas entrepreneurship driven by innovation and networks of talented people can in fact mitigate the negative impacts of this crisis and lead to local prosperity. It was also based on the confidence that professionals who by education or experience give evidence of competence in an IEEE designated field (Engineering, Computer Sciences and Information Technology, Physical Sciences, Biological and Medical Sciences, Mathematics, Technical Communications, Education, Management, Law and Policy) should take a leading role in this effort.

The IEEE Cyprus EN’s main objectives are the following:

1. Networking between IEEE members and other professionals (non-members working in an IEEE designated field) in Cyprus who are interested in entrepreneurship, from which possible cooperation and start-ups may come up. Monthly meetings take place in the presence of the Entrepreneurs Network Executive Committee (Chair, Vice Chairperson, Secretary and Program Director) and any other IEEE members or non-members concerned in the Network’s goals and interests.
2.  Triggering of entrepreneurship in IEEE designated fields in Cyprus especially within the current financial crisis which increases unemployment. Professionals who by education or experience give evidence of competence in an IEEE designated field are encouraged to participate in the Entrepreneurs Network and join IEEE.
3. Arrangement of talks by entrepreneurship related experts, such as accountants, lawyers, angels, local SBA representatives, bankers, experts in Business Finance, marketing professionals, insurance experts, and industry leaders.
4. Organization of workshops or days of training in such topics as financing alternatives, protecting intellectual property, selling a business plan, project management and personal leadership style for success.
5. Support of entrepreneurs / future entrepreneurs and helping them both to meliorate their business plans and get in touch with angels and investors.
6. Holding face to face year round TechMatch event. TechMatch is a tool that helps member entrepreneurs conduct self-evaluations on their business plans, submit their business plans for review by other experienced entrepreneur members and to visibility by potential investors. The IEEE Cyprus EN supports entrepreneurs who have participated in the TechMatch event by assigning mentors, connecting the entrepreneur with local resources for further help, selecting the best plans in a competition and giving awards or advertising the plans in operating unit publications.
7. The goal of TechMatch is to support entrepreneur members in moving toward success and that is what the Entrepreneurs Network Executive Committee (EN’s EXCOM) undertakes. After the actual TechMatch event is over EN’s EXCOM provides ongoing support to entrepreneurs who have expressed interest. This can be in the form of assigned mentors for those entrepreneurs that express interest. The lead of the Review team together with EN’s EXCOM takes the responsibility for any handoff or continuity of support as expressed by the entrepreneur and assures there is direct communication with each entrepreneur according to their needs and expectations for their further development.

Apart from its official website within IEEE Cyprus Section’s website, IEEE Cyprus EN can be found in LinkedIn and Facebook.

Two webinars were organized in May 2013 by the IEEE R8 Educational Activities Sub-Committee (EASC) Continuing Education (CE), Niovi Pavlidou, Coordinator, and George Papadopoulos, Volunteer.

The first webinar entitled “Industrial automation” was organized on May 9, 2013. The webinar was intended to all members of the IEEE Components, Packaging, and Manufacturing Technology Society, Industrial Electronics Society (IES) and Industry Applications Society (IAS) members in Region 8. The webinar was quite well disseminated, resulting to 32 registrations. The event was organized on the WebEx facilities and the attendance was considered as satisfactory with about 35 participants taking place. Niovi Pavlidou welcomed the participants and introduced various subcommittees relating to technical activities, with emphasis on educational activities in R8. The central speaker of the webinar was Kevit Desai, Centurion Systems, Nairobi, Kenya. The webinar was technically hosted by George Papadopoulos.

The second webinar entitled “Computer in Parallel” was organized on May 16, 2013. The target audience was all members of the IEEE Computer Society members in Region 8. This webinar, which was generally considered as the most successful of the webinar series performed so far by the IEEE R8 CE, had 177 registrations, resulting to about 50 attendees. Niovi Pavlidou opened the session, with Nikos Pitsianis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, following with his presentation. The webinar was technically hosted by George Papadopoulos.

The events were recorded on the WebEx platform and are available to everyone for free in the website of IEEE R8 EASC https://ieeer8.org/category/continuing-education-works/ce-webinars/. Stay tuned to our future events.

George Papadopoulos, IEEE R8 Volunteer for Educational Activities
Niovi Pavlidou, IEEE R8 Coordinator for Educational Activities

On 13th February, IEEE Kenya officially launched its EPICS project to provide access for visually impaired persons to educational content on mobile devices with the signing of an MoU between IEEE Kenya, Automated Systems Research and the Kenya Society for the Blind.

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Left to right: Juliana Kivasu- CEO, Kenya Society for the Blind; Vincent Kaabunga –
Chair, IEEE Kenya; Moses Gichanga – CEO, Automated Systems Research

Under the EPICS project, five IEEE student branch members will work under the supervision of ASR to implement an automated system that will enable  visually impaired persons to access SMS and email-based content using low cost mobile phones. Additionally, eight visually impaired pre-university students from the Kenya Integrated Education Programme will also participate in the project.

The project is also being supported by SAMSUNG under their initiative to develop local content for the mobile platform.

It is envisaged that the system will ultimately become a revenue generation source for the society when the service is made available to the general public.

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Photos of IEEE President Peter W. Staecker with Dr. Imaana Kibaaya Laibuta, who is blind and is serves as a Commisioner at the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution.