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Student Paper Contest 2024-1st Phase Selection Results

The first phase of the Student Paper Contest 2024, the fifty-seventh edition of this prestigious and long-standing R8 student contest, has concluded. There were a total of 34, of which 32 were considered valid. 

The SPC 2024 international jury, comprising Prof. Gianfranco Chicco from Italy, Prof. Joao Carlos Ferreira from Portugal, Prof. Paul Micallef from Malta, and Prof. Vera Markovic from Serbia, has anonymously selected the following five papers (listed alphabetically by authors’ first names) for the Regional Oral Finals: 

TOP 5 PAPERS – SPC 2024 FINALISTS

(alphabetically by authors’ first names)

Name of the first author

University Country Paper Title

Jan Popič

University of Maribor Slovenia Using Neural Networks in the Search of Low Auto-correlation Binary Sequences

Loay Alfeqy

Ain Shams University Egypt BEVSORT: Bird Eye View LiDAR Multi Object Tracking
Matea Marinova

Ss Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje

North Macedonia

Accelerating Convergence in Split Learning for Time-Varying and Resource-Limited Environments

Matic Pokorn

University of Ljubljana Slovenia

Smart Homes, Smarter Savings: Energy Trading with Deep Reinforcement Learning

Tim Bary

Université catholique de Louvain 

Belgium Designing Pre-training Datasets from Unlabeled Data for EEG Classification with Transformers

 

SPC 2024 Oral Finals will take place as part of R8 flagship conference MELECON 2024, in Porto, Portugal, from June 25 to 27, 2024. The awards for students are $800, $500, and $200 for first, second, and third place, respectively, and the award for the winner’s Student Branch is $250.

The IEEE R8 Student Activities Committee extends congratulations to the authors of the top five papers and the IEEE Student Branches represented by the finalists! 

We express gratitude to all participants in SPC 2024! The majority of the submitted papers exhibit high quality, and we wholeheartedly encourage the authors to persist in their research work, as well as in the preparation and publication of technical papers.

Vera Markovic

IEEE R8 SAC

SPC Coordinator




SPC Rules

IEEE Region 8 Student Paper Contest (SPC) Rules


I. General

  1. Once every year, each IEEE Region 8 (R8) Student Branch (SB) may hold a Local Student Paper Contest (LSPC) under its own responsibility.
  2. The winner(s) of each LSPC may submit their papers for the R8 SPC. A Branch may submit one paper if it has 10 – 99 members, up to two papers if it has 100 – 199 members, and up to three papers for members beyond 200 based on the latest available IEEE Annual Statistics.
  3. Even if a Local SPC is not held by a Student Branch, one paper can be submitted by the SB to the Regional SPC if the SB Counselor supports the paper and the paper complies with the SPC rules. Moreover, SB or Section officers can identify and encourage talented students to submit their technical papers to the R8 SPC. Conferences (supported by the IEEE OUs and taking place in the R8 area) that have student papers sessions included in their programs could also offer the possibility to submit the best student papers to the R8 SPC. In that case, full students’ papers should not be published in the Conference Proceedings to qualify for submission in R8 SPC.

II. Authors

  1. Only IEEE Student Members and IEEE Graduate Student Members are permitted to author papers submitted to the Regional SPC in its initial phase. Each author has to be an active member of a Student Branch in Region 8 at the time of the original submission of the paper and a member (student or not) of the IEEE at the time of the oral presentation.
  2. The work presented in the paper must have been completed during undergraduate or graduate studies. In other words, the work presented in the paper must not be part of the Ph.D. research. Submission of the paper to the R8 SPC must be completed within 12 months after graduation.
  3. After the first R8 SPC phase is completed and the five best papers are selected, finalists’ supervisors/mentors may be added as authors to the final versions (camera-ready papers). This does not change in any way the basic rule that the submitted paper is the work of the student.

III. Papers

  1. Papers should cover technical and engineering aspects of a subject reasonably within or related to the areas with which the IEEE is concerned. The work need not be original in engineering or scientific content but should be original in treatment and clearly show the author’s contribution to the subject.
  2. Although the paper previously submitted to the Local Student Paper Contest may be written in the local language, the paper submitted to the Regional SPC must be written in English.
  3. Previously published work will not be accepted in the R8 Student Paper Contest.
  4. The paper should not exceed six (6) pages. Overlength papers will not be considered for the contest.
  5. The paper must be written using the two-column IEEE Transaction style. A font size of 10 pt or larger should be used. The IEEE Style Manual and Conference Paper templates in various formats are available here.
  6. Please don’t forget to remove authors and institutions from the initial paper! As mentioned above, the final version will contain authors, institutions, and if needed the mentor/supervisor name(s) as well.

IV. Guidelines for Authors

  1. In general, the paper should be organized as follows:
    1. Title page. The title should contain the minimum number of keywords necessary to accurately represent the paper’s content.
    2. Abstract. The abstract, no longer than 100 words, should provide the essential facts of the paper’s content, such as a brief statement of the problem or objective and a concise summary of results or conclusions. Methods or other details should only be included if they are unique or of particular significance.
    3. Introduction. The introduction should lead the reader to develop an understanding of the paper’s significance. Background information, including the state of the art, should be provided. The added benefits of the method of approach and the importance of results or conclusions should be emphasized.
    4. Body. The main argument should be presented in a logical sequence according to a prepared outline, complete with supporting data. Writing should be in the third person. Curves, charts, or tables are useful for presenting supporting data and results.
    5. Conclusions. Conclusions are often considered the most important part of a paper. They should be stated concisely in a separate section at the end of the paper. If there are three or more conclusions, numbering each and setting them off in a separate paragraph can increase emphasis.
    6. Appendices. Appendices should be used for detailed mathematical proofs, equation development, and examples that are subordinate to the main argument in the body of the paper but not essential to following the argument. References to appendices should be made in the text.
    7. References. Any information or development taken from external sources, such as books, periodicals, or courses, should be clearly referenced in the text, and a suitable reference list appended to enable readers to consult those sources.

V. Submission

  1. As mentioned above, it is strictly required that the initial version of the SPC paper submitted to the R8 SPC does not show the identities of the authors and their higher education institutions.
  2. A SPC SUBMISSION PACKAGE includes:
    1. SPC paper
    2. COVER PAGE (send as a Word document)
    3. PAPER SUPPLEMENT (send as a Word document)
    4. COUNSELOR CERTIFICATE (signed by the counselor)
    5. IEEE Copyright form (signed by author)                                                                                                          The Cover Page should contain the authors’ and institutions’ data, and the Paper Supplement should provide additional information about the paper, helping the jury members with judging. The Counselor Certificate should confirm the authors’ eligibility for submitting their papers for the SPC, including the author’s IEEE membership number(s), the study level, and the year(s) during which the work was performed. Any other useful information concerning the work and background is welcome. From the Submission Package, only the paper without authors’ names and Paper Supplement will be sent to jury members.
  3. The deadline to send SPC papers accompanied by other required documents is usually 1 December of the current year for the contest to be held in the next year. If the deadline is extended, the new deadline will be published on the SAC website and on social media.
  4. Send the SPC submission packages by email to [email protected].

VI. Judging

  1. An international Jury will grade the written papers without knowledge of the identity of the authors and their institutions. The number of Jury members is four to five, including the R8 SPC Coordinator.
  2. The contest consists of two parts, a written part and an oral part. The maximum number of points for the written part of the contest is 70, with technical content graded with a maximum of 45 points, and the quality of presentation graded with a maximum of 25 points. Based on the written part, the jury will select five papers for presentation at the Region 8 SPC oral finals. The maximum number of points for the oral part is 30.

VII. JURY GUIDELINES ON GRADING THE PAPER

  1. To provide a uniform grading standard, the following criteria are suggested:
    1. Do the authors present their independent work?
    2. Is the significant amount of presented work new? Do the authors present a novel interpretation of existing work?
    3. Is the subject matter of substantial technical content and is it presented at an acceptably advanced level?
    4. Is the 100-word abstract concise, informative, and accurate?
    5. Does the written presentation include a satisfactory introduction that properly orients the reader with respect to the general area with which the paper deals?
    6. Do the conclusions of the paper summarize the reader’s impression of what the work has accomplished? Are the conclusions supported by evidence?
    7. Is the paper technically accurate?
    8. Does the exposition (and analysis which may be involved) proceed in an orderly and logical manner? Is the paper self-contained (complete, having all that is needed)?
    9. Does the author exhibit ingenuity and resourcefulness in methods of presentation, choice of illustrations, use of analogies, and the like?
    10. Is an unmistakable meaning conveyed with acceptable brevity?
    11. Is the format and typesetting quality of the paper appropriate?
    12. Is the list of references adequate?
    13. Is the text written correctly in terms of the English language?

VIII. Oral Finals

  1. Finalists selected by the Jury will be invited to present their papers at one of the Region 8 Flagship Conferences within a special SPC session (normally MELECON or EUROCON). Finalists are also invited to attend the conference fully and are waived from paying the conference registration fee. Travel expenses (train 2nd class, bus or plane economy class for long distances) will be provided by the Region 8 Student Activities Fund to one author of each paper accepted for oral presentation. Living expenses that may occur while attending the oral presentation may also be reimbursed. The guidelines for the expense reimbursement will be provided to finalists before the conference.
  2. Finalists should give a pleasant and logical presentation of the subject matter suited to 15-20 minutes. The presentation should not attempt to cover the entire paper but rather to give a general idea and enlarge on one or two specific points. The Jury will question each contestant for an additional period of 10 minutes typically.
  3. The papers that have been accepted for oral presentation will be published in the Conference Proceedings and included in the IEEE Xplore Database. Electronic versions of the finalists’ papers will also be published on the IEEE Region 8 SAC webpage.

IX. Prizes

  1. Based on both the written and oral parts, the final ranking list will be made. Winners will be announced and awarded at the Awards Ceremony, typically held during the Conference Gala Dinner.
  2. There are cash prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place of $800, $500, and $200, respectively. In addition, the Region 8 Student Activities Committee offers $250 to the Student Branch from which the winner comes.

 


About SPC

The IEEE Region 8 Student Paper Contest (SPC) started in 1967, only four years after IEEE R8 was formed. The SPC was an initiative of the second R8 Director, Jean Lebel. The first SPC was held in Lausanne, Switzerland in conjunction with the IEEE R8 Committee Meeting. Since then, it has been held every year without exception, and it is one of the main technical activities in Region 8. By organizing the Student Paper Contest, the IEEE Region 8 Student Activities Committee recognizes the importance of student research and the dissemination of their results and findings.

 

The R8 SPC is an excellent occasion for personal leadership and involvement of student members in a prospective IEEE scientific/technical activity. It is aimed at encouraging and supporting undergraduate and master students to work on an engineering topic covered by the IEEE and produce a technical paper for publication. Early research activities at the undergraduate and master level allow students to develop professionally and personally in ways not possible through traditional lectures, and this experience can be extremely valuable for students and their future careers. In accordance with those goals, PhD students are not included in this contest, because conducting research and publishing scientific papers is normally the most important aspect of a PhD study, so the expected scientific contribution is not the same at different study levels. Therefore, the IEEE Region 8 Student Paper Contest is for IEEE R8 student members or graduate student members who have not yet started their Ph.D.

 

In addition to student benefits, there are also benefits for IEEE organizational units. The contest increases the visibility of student branches and allows for wider promotion of IEEE among students. It is also a nice possibility to involve more members of the academic community, like student counselors, supervisors, mentors, reviewers, etc., in a significant IEEE activity.

 

The best way to get high-quality papers for the regional contest is to organize local student paper contests by IEEE student branches or even at the level of a section. Each local Student Branch Contest winner may compete for the Region 8 SPC. A student branch (SB) may submit one paper to the SPC per every 100 SB members or part thereof, with a maximum of three papers per SB. In order to promote and support local student paper contests, from this year onwards, the IEEE Region 8 Student Activities Committee offers a new opportunity for student branches and sections through the Local Student Paper Contest Events Program. This program will provide funding to IEEE Region 8 Sections and Student Branches to establish local student paper contests, which will increase student contest awareness and participation.

 

Additionally, especially in small branches where the organization of a local contest is difficult, the IEEE section officers can encourage students to submit their work as a technical paper to the regional SPC. Also, all R8/Sections/Chapters IEEE Conferences, having student paper sessions included in their programs, could and should also be used to get additional proposals for the regional SPC, provided that the student paper has not already been published in the conference proceedings. As long as an SB is formally supporting and accepting any type of student paper contest activity, it is in line with the existing SPC rules. The success of the SPC relies primarily on the engagement and enthusiasm of the Student Branch Counselor and the Student Branch Chair, but also the contributions of other IEEE officers like Section Chairs, Chapter Chairs, Section SA officers, etc., could be extremely valuable.

 

The deadline to send full papers to IEEE Region 8 SPC is usually December 1 (sometimes it is extended for two weeks). Submitted papers are graded by an international jury composed of 4-5 experts who are, in most cases, university professors from different Region 8 countries. The review is double-blind, which means that the judges handle the papers without knowledge of the identity of the authors/institutions. Every jury member grades papers individually, usually with the assistance of other colleagues who are specialists in the corresponding fields. The results are then averaged, a ranking list is made, and the top 5 papers are selected. All five finalists (one author per paper) are invited to present their papers at one of the IEEE R8 flagship conferences. Traditionally, the SPC Regional Oral Finals are held during the MELECON or EUROCON conferences. The presentations are graded by the same international jury as in the first part of the contest. On the basis of both the written and oral parts of the competition, the final ranking list and the decision about the winner are made. There are prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place of $800, $500, and $200, respectively. In addition, the student branch where the winner comes from gets an award of $250. This award is named the “Dick Poortvliet Award” to honor the 1995 Student Paper Contest coordinator who passed away during his term. As a special form of recognition, the papers of all 5 finalists are published in the Conference Proceedings and included in the IEEE Xplore Digital Library.

 

The regional SPC Oral Finals provide an excellent opportunity for extraordinary students to get an invaluable early experience of taking part in a prestigious IEEE conference and exchanging their ideas and results.

 


IEEE Region 8 – Local Student Paper Contest (LSPC) – Funding Program – Third Call

Introduction

The IEEE Region 8 Student Activities Committee is announcing the Local Student Paper Contest Events Program. This program calls for section student activities and student branch leaders to submit their own version of a local student paper contest and get the chance to showcase their papers in the Regional Student Paper Contest.

 

This is the third and last Call for proposals. Please keep in mind that the total budget of the program is limited and that funds will be allocated according to the principle: of “first come, first served”.

 

Important Dates

  • Deadline for the proposals submission: October 15, 2023
  • Announcement on the funding decision: 2-3 weeks after proposal submission deadline
  • Event Implementation: by November 23, 2023
  • Reporting Submission: by November 30, 2023
  • Funding Release: December 2023

 

Goals

The program aims to:

  • Giving incentives to IEEE Region 8 Sections and Student Branches for establishing local student paper contests;
  • Provide an opportunity for students to showcase their technical skills;
  • Promote the Regional Student Paper Contest, as well as increase awareness and participation.

 

Rules

The program rules are the following:

  • Applicants to this program can be either Sections or Student Branches;
  • The application should include an endorsement letter:
    • For Sections, only the Section Chair, SSAC, or SSR can provide an endorsement;
    • For Student Branches, only the Student Branch Chair or Counselor can provide an endorsement.
  • Participants should be students affiliated with the organizing OU;
  • The local SPC papers cannot get published in conference proceedings with ISBN;
  • The local contest should follow the rules of R8 SPC;
  • The finalists’ papers for these local events have to be submitted in the Regional Student Paper Contest:
    • 1 finalist for OUs with less than 100 student members;
    • 2 finalists for OUs with 100 – 199 student members;
    • 3 finalists for OUs with more than 200 student members.
    • Note: Student members include both Student Member Grades and Graduate Student Member Grades.

 

Submissions

The proposal shall contain the following information:

  • Summary of the proposal (max. 250 words)
  • Description of the Local Student Paper Contest
  • Proposed Title, Date, Venue and Organizing Team
  • Preliminary Budget
  • Suggested Program and Time Schedule
  • Goals and KPIs
    • Provide a short timeframe with milestones
    • The event should be organized within the year of approval and in any case before the R8 SPC deadline for submissions

The submission shall:

  • be a maximum of 6 pages (without endorsement letter);
  • be in Times New Roman font and 11 font size;
  • be submitted in pdf format;
  • include a letter of endorsement as an attachment (important: the applicant and the signer of the endorsement letter cannot be the same person!).

 

Judging

Proposals will be judged from R8 SAC in the following areas:

  • Solid content and Planning;
  • Alignment with program goals.

 

Funding

The entries that exceed the minimum standards will receive up to 300 $ per Student Branch or up to 500 per Section to be used as secured funding. The funding will be sent to the (parent) Section’s bank account after the submission and evaluation of the final report.

The funding does not cover virtual platform costs and covers up to 80% of the total budget. Funding Eligibility Criteria and Outcome Reporting Rules are applied to this program.

 

Apply Now!

Application Form:  Submit your Application NOW

 


Oral Finals Winners of the IEEE R8 Student Paper Contest (SPC) 2023 held at EUROCON 2023 in Turin, Italy

SPC hits again in EUROCON 2023 at Turin, Italy!

The 56th edition of the IEEE R8 Student Paper Contest (SPC), organized by IEEE Region 8 Student Activities Committee (SAC), concluded at the prestigious IEEE R8 flagship conference, EUROCON 2023, held in Turin, Italy on July 6-7.

 

Five previously selected finalists had the privilege of presenting their outstanding work during a special conference session – SPC Oral Finals. Kicking off the session, Engr. Abdullateef Aliyu, the IEEE Region 8 SAC Chair, delivered an inspiring opening speech.

 

The SPC finalists took the stage to present their papers, with most of them presenting on-site, while one participant joined virtually. An esteemed international jury, including Prof. Gianfranco Ciccò (the EUROCON 2023 General Chair), Prof. Paul Micaleff, Prof. Joao Carlos Ferreira, and Prof. Vera Markovic (SPC coordinator), had the responsibility of selecting the winners on the basis of both, initial written submissions as well as oral presentations.

 

During the conference Gala Dinner at the Automobile Museum Turin, Italy, the eagerly anticipated SPC award ceremony took place. To honor the winners, the IEEE R8 Director Vincenzo Piuri proudly presented the FIRST PRIZE to Jonathan Parion from UCLouvain University, Belgium, for his outstanding paper titled: “Low-temperature admittance spectroscopy for defect characterization in Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 thin-film solar cells.” 

 

As the first prize winner, Jonathan received a cash award of $800, and UCLouvain University SB was also rewarded with a special prize of $250.

 

 

 

R8 Director Vincenzo Piuri presented the certificate to the winner Jonathan Parion

 

The SECOND PRIZE, valued at $500, was claimed by Jakub Lála from Imperial College London, UK, for his exceptional paper titled: “Coarse-Graining of Molecular Dynamics Using Neural Ordinary Differential Equations.” 

 

 

The THIRD PRIZE, along with a cash award of $200, was bestowed upon Qihan Yang and his co-authors Wenqiang Lai, Ye Mao, Endong Sung, and Jiangnan Ye, all from Imperial College London, UK, for their remarkable paper titled “Knowledge Distilled Ensemble Model for sEMG-based Silent Speech Interface.” 

 

 

R8 Director Vincenzo Piuri and R8 SAC Chair Abdullateef Aliyu, presented the certificates to the winners

 

 

Saša Obradović from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, secured the 4th place with his paper titled: “Evaluation of inertial measurement units and non-invasive muscle contraction sensors for monitoring cycling biomechanics.”

 

Meanwhile, the 5th place was earned by Sarah Alyafeai, Rawan Duhaithem, and Sara Alamoudi from King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia, for their paper titled: “Smart Assistive Wearable Device for Alzheimer’s Patients.”

 

Congratulations to all the finalists and their respective student branches for their exceptional achievements!

 

We extend heartfelt gratitude to the mentors and supervisors whose invaluable guidance enhanced the quality of these remarkable papers.

 

Their names are rightfully included as co-authors in the finalists’ papers published in EUROCON 2023 Proceedings and the IEEExplore digital library. The award-winning papers can be found using the following:

 

 

Stay tuned for the upcoming SPC 2024, and secure your participation before December 1, 2023.

 

We eagerly anticipate your presence at this exciting event.

 

Looking forward to seeing you there!

 

Students’ Impressions

Participating to the IEEE student paper contest has been an incredibly enriching journey. It is not often that master thesis work gets the chance to be valorized, and the SPC was a great way to put it in the spotlight, both in writing and orally during a recognized international scientific conference. Also on personal ground, the contest was a great way of pushing my writing and presentation skills even further, helping me grow as a scientist.”

Jonathan Parion

“The Region 8 Student Paper Contest was a valuable opportunity to share my research and complete the work from my undergraduate studies in a more elaborate form. Meeting other finalists helped me appreciate the diversity of research topics and cultures across the region. I am glad I was invited to Torino to experience EUROCON 2023 with its academic and entrepreneurial conference programme.”

Jakub Lála

“Attending the IEEE Region 8 student paper contest has been an extraordinary and honourable experience for me and my co-authors. Winning third place in the competition has made it even more remarkable. I am grateful for the dedication and hard work put forth by the organizers, jurists, and helpers who made this event possible. Aside from academic achievements, this journey has also gifted us with delightful memories of exploring Italy. I anticipate attending more engineering conferences, where I hope to meet even more like-minded individuals and continue building meaningful relationships.”

Qihan Yang

 


Sectional Student Branch Officers Meeting Program – Second Call for 2023

Introduction

The Sectional Student Branch Officers Meeting Program focuses on gathering all Student Branch officers of each section in a Congress format. It aims to allow the sharing of ideas, practices, and different realities of each Student Branch. This program provides networking opportunities and contacts, ideas, and motivation to Student Branch officers. During the Meeting, each student branch will have an opportunity to present its achievements of the past year and plan its next year through special sessions for each possible activity of a student branch. It is important to mention that branches’ participation in section functions is part of the exemplary student branch award and this program provides exactly this opportunity to the student branches of the Region. These events take place in only one section at a time and are an excellent opportunity to prepare IEEE students’ branches for the upcoming year and help them in their operations and management.

Goals

The program aims to:

  • Increase the interaction between Student Branches by meeting annually in a Congress format;
  • Meet each other and create synergy and a spirit of cooperation between both students and student branches in each Section;
  • Promote, share, and concretize ideas;
  • Provide IEEE operational knowledge, especially for Region 8 and MGA Student Activities and guide Student Branches;
  • Create a space to answer questions, give feedback, and motivate sections and Student Branches.

Rules

The program rules are the following:

  • Applicants to this program can be only Sections;
  • The application should include an endorsement from the Section Chair;
  • Participants should be students from the organizing Section;
  • Student Branch officers should be prioritized to participate;
  • The event should have at least 10 participants from at least 4 different Student Branches;
  • The IEEE R8 SAC logo should be included in all promotional materials;
  • The program of the event should include at least one session for:
    • Networking;
    • Sharing student branches’ latest activity;
    • Planning future activities;
    • Round Table Discussions.
      • Proposed Topics:
        • Share best practices;
        • Section-level programs, initiatives, and contests;
        • Collaboration between student branches;
        • Any other topic of interest to students.
    • Women in Engineering Student Symposium (optional)

Judging

Proposals will be judged from R8 SAC in the following areas:

  • Solid content and Planning;
  • Benefits to students;
  • Alignment with program goals.

Submissions

The proposal shall contain the following information:

  • Description of the proposed Annual Student Branches Meeting
  • Proposed Title, Date, Venue and Organizing Team
    • The organizing team should include SSRs and SSACs, if applicable
  • Preliminary Budget
  • Suggested Program and Time Schedule
  • Goals and KPIs
    • Provide a short timeframe with milestones
    • The event should be organized within the year of approval

The submission shall:

  • be a maximum of 8 pages (without endorsement letter);
  • be in Times New Roman font and 11 font size;
  • be submitted in pdf format;
  • include as an attachment the endorsement letter.

Funding

The entries that exceed the minimum standards will receive up to 500$ per section to be used as secured funding. In the case of the Women in Engineering Symposium additional funding of 200$ per section is considered (a total of up to 700$ per section). The funding will be sent in the Section’s bank account after the submission and evaluation of the final report. The funding does not cover virtual platform costs and covers up to 80% of the total budget. Funding Eligibility Criteria and Outcome Reporting Rules Rules are applied to this program.

Application Guide

In order to help you in writing your application, we have prepared for you three guides to help you write and submit a strong and resilient application

Apply Now!

Final Deadline: September 25th, 2023

Application Form: Submit your Application NOW


Important Dates

  1. Submission of the Proposal: September 13, 2023 – September 25, 2023
  2. Funding Decision: October 1, 2023
  3. Event Implementation: By November 23, 2023
  4. Reporting Submission: by November 30, 2023
  5. Funding Release: December 2023

Collaborative Student Initiatives Booster Program – Second Call for 2023

Introduction

The IEEE Region 8 Student Activities Committee is announcing the Collaborative Student Initiatives Booster Program. This program calls for section student activities leaders (Section Chairs, SSACs, SSRs) and student branch leaders (Student Branch Chairs and Counselors, Student Branch Chapter Chairs and Advisors, WIE Chairs and Advisors) to submit proposals for collaborative initiatives or project ideas in the area of Student Activities.

Goals

The program aims to:

  • Giving incentives to IEEE Region 8 Sections and Student Branches for collaboration on Student Activities and support them;
  • Provide an opportunity for IEEE Region 8 Sections and Student Branches to initiate collaborative programs in Student Activities;
  • Showcase the innovation and drive of IEEE Region 8 Sections and Student Branches to an international student audience;
  • Find, promote, and establish creative programs that provide value to IEEE students.

Rules

The program rules are the following:

  • The initiatives or project ideas shall be new and not from the existing pool of IEEE Students Programs;
  • Applicants to this program can be only Sections and Student Branches:
    • For Student Branches, they must have submitted their annual report;
    • In the case of Student Branch Chapters or Women in Engineering, their parent Student Branch is considered on the applicant on their behalf of.
  • One applicant only is considered as the financially responsible (FR) OU;
    • The FR OU receives the funding from the program;
    • If the FR OU is a Student Branch, an endorsement from its Section Chair or Treasurer should be included.
  • There should be at least 2 applicant OUs of the same level (Section / Student Branch);
  • Each OU can submit only 1 entry as the FR one and up to 2 entries in total;
  • Applicants who were funded in previous R8 SAC Programs and haven’t delivered the reports requested are not qualified to apply;
  • The application should include an endorsement from all applicant OUs:
    • For Sections, only the Section Chair, SSAC, or SSR can provide an endorsement;
    • For Student Branches, only the Student Branch Chair or Counselor can provide an endorsement.
      • For Student Branch Chapters or Women in Engineering, the respective Advisor can also provide an endorsement.

Judging

Proposals will be judged from R8 SAC in the following areas:

  • Innovation and Originality;
  • Solid content and Planning;
  • Usability and Benefits to Students;
  • Scalability and Sustainability;
  • Alignment with MGA SAC goals.
  • Full involvement of all parties in the organization of the event and participation.

Submissions

The proposal shall contain the following information:

  • Description of the proposed cross-sectional initiative or project idea
  • Goals and KPIs
    • Provide a short timeframe with milestones
    • The idea should be completed within the year of approval
  • How does the idea align with MGA Student Activities goals?
  • What are the benefits for the students?
  • Provide a detailed projected budget
  • Additional information (optional)

The submission shall:

  • be a maximum of 8 pages (without endorsement letters);
  • be in Times New Roman font and 11 font size;
  • be submitted in pdf format;
  • include all the applicant OUs’ names;
  • include as attachments all endorsement letters.

Tracks

There are different tracks that you can apply for your initiative:

  • Section Student Initiatives Track;
    • Only Sections can apply to this track.
  • Student Branch Initiatives Track;
    • Only Student Branches can apply on this track.
  • Student Branch Technical Chapters Initiatives Track;
    • Only SB Technical Chapters can apply on this track.
  • Student Branch Women in Engineering Initiatives Track;
    • Only SB WIE AGs can apply on this track.
  • New Engineers Track.
    • Both Sections and Student Branches can apply to this track.
    • The New Engineers Track focuses on encouraging collaborations with pre-university students and teachers to establish educational activities that promote the benefits of being an Engineer.
    • This track aims to help Student Branches and Sections organize educational programs with schools and encourage students to use different and more interactive teaching methods.

Funding

The best entries that exceed the minimum standards can receive up to 1,800 $ per initiative to be used as secured funding for piloting their proposals. The funding will be sent in the (parent) Section’s bank account after the submission and evaluation of the final report. The funding does not cover virtual platform costs. Funding Eligibility Criteria and Outcome Reporting Rules are applied to this program.

 

The final funding depends on the Student Branches involved (in the case of Sections the number of their Student Branches that have submitted their annual report is considered) and on the affected sections. In case of collaboration with local Young Professionals (endorsement letter from local YP Chair is required), a bonus of +100 $ is considered on the base funding. The maximum funding is calculated as <base funding> x <funding multiplier>, according to the following table:

# of Student Branches Base Funding # of Sections Funding Multiplier

1

0 $ 1 x 1

2 – 3

200 $ 2 – 3

x 2

4 – 7 400 $ 4 – 7

x 2.5

8 + 500 $ 8 +

x 3

Application Guide

In order to help you in writing your application, we have prepared for you three guides to help you write and submit a strong and resilient application:

  • Collaborative Student Initiatives Booster Program: Program Guide

Apply Now!

Final Deadline: September 25th, 2023

Application Form: Submit your Application NOW


Important Dates

  1. Submission of the Proposal: September 13, 2023 – September 25, 2023
  2. Funding Decision: October 1, 2023
  3. Event Implementation: By November 23, 2023
  4. Reporting Submission: by November 30, 2023
  5. Funding Release: December 2023

SYP Networking Activities Program – Second Call for 2023

Introduction

The IEEE Region 8 Student Activities Committee is announcing the SYP Networking Activities Program. This program calls for student branch leaders (Student Branch Chairs and Counselors) to submit proposals for social and networking activities between student branches and young professionals that mix personal development with professional development and promote membership transition. 

Goals

The program aims to:

  • Enhance the bonding between the local Student Branches and the local YP AG; 
  • Establish collaborative activities between student branches and young professionals;
  • Be the meeting place for networking, social and professional development activities;
  • Promote the student – YP transition membership transition and infersize on the importance of IEEE in building a student’s career;
  • Provide incentives for collaboration with Young Professionals for STEP events.

Rules

The program rules are the following:

  • Applicants to this program can be only Student Branches that have submitted their annual report;
    • The application should include an endorsement letter from the respective Student Branch Counselor.
  • The application must be supported by the respective local Young Professionals affinity group;
    • The application should include an endorsement letter from the respective Affinity Group Chair.
  • Participants should be students from the organizing (and/or) other Student Branches and YPs from the respective Section with a minimum participation of 10 participants;
  • The program of the event should include at least one session for:
    • IEEE Young Professionals;
    • Student Transition to YPs;
    • Professional Development;
    • Networking and Socializing.

Judging

Proposals will be judged from R8 SAC in the following areas:

  • Solid and innovative program content and Planning;
  • Relevant sessions;
  • Benefits to students on their transition to YPs;
  • Alignment with program goals;

Submissions

The proposal shall contain the following information:

  • Description of the proposed SYP Networking Activity
  • Proposed Title, Date, Venue and Organizing Team
  • Preliminary Budget
  • Suggested Program and Time Schedule
  • Goals and KPIs
    • Provide a short timeframe with milestones
    • The event should be organized within the year of approval

The submission shall:

  • be a maximum of 8 pages (without endorsement letter);
  • be in Times New Roman font and 11 font size;
  • be submitted in pdf format;
  • include as an attachment the endorsement letter.

Funding

The entries that exceed the minimum standards will receive up to 500$ per activity to be used as secured funding after the submission and evaluation of their final report. The funding will be sent in the parent Section’s bank account after the submission and evaluation of the final report. The funding does not cover virtual events and costs and covers up to 60% of the total budget. Funding Eligibility Criteria and Outcome Reporting Rules are applied to this program.

Application Guide

In order to help you in writing your application, we have prepared for you three guides to help you write and submit a strong and resilient application

Apply Now!

Final Deadline: September 25th, 2023 

Application Form: Submit your Application NOW


Important Dates

  1. Submission of the Proposal: September 13, 2023 – September 25, 2023
  2. Funding Decision: October 1, 2023
  3. Event Implementation: By November 23, 2023
  4. Reporting Submission: by November 30, 2023
  5. Funding Release: December 2023

IEEE Region 8 – Local Student Paper Contest – Funding Program Second Call

 

Introduction

The IEEE Region 8 Student Activities Committee is honourably announcing the SECOND CALL for the Local Student Paper Contest Events Program.

 

This program calls for section student activities (SSAC) and student branch leaders (SBs’ Chair) to submit their own version of a local student paper contest event and get the chance to win a grant of 300$ per Student Branch or 500$ per Section.

Be prepared for the next call in September 2023. The local winners are highly supported and encouraged to apply for the Regional SPC.

 

& Keep it quick, first come, first served, and invite all of your talented students as SB or Section Officers or even Conferences officers at IEE

Important Dates

Deadline for the proposals submission: July 5, 2023

Announcement on the funding decision: 2-3 weeks after proposal submission deadline

Event Implementation: August – November 2023 (please plan November 23 as the last date for implementation because of the R8 SPC deadline, December 1)

Reporting Submission: by November 30, 2023

Funding Release: December 2023

Goals

  1. Giving incentives to IEEE Region 8 Sections and Student Branches for establishing local student paper contests;
  2. Provide an opportunity for students to showcase their technical skills;
  3. Promote the Regional Student Paper Contest, as well as increase awareness and participation.

General

  • Once every year, each IEEE Region 8 (R8) Student Branch (SB) may hold a Local Student Paper Contest (LSPC) under its own responsibility.
  • The winner(s) of each LSPC may submit their papers for the R8 SPC. A Branch may submit one paper if it has 10 – 99 members, up to two papers if it has 100 – 199 members, and up to three papers for members beyond 200 based on the latest available IEEE Annual Statistics.
  • Even if a Local SPC is not held by a Student Branch, one paper can be submitted by the SB to the Regional SPC if the SB Counselor supports the paper and the paper complies with the SPC rules. Moreover, SB or Section officers can identify and encourage talented students to submit their technical papers to the R8 SPC. Conferences (supported by the IEEE OUs and taking place in the R8 area) that have student papers sessions included in their programs could also offer the possibility to submit the best student papers to the R8 SPC. In that case, full students’ papers should not be published in the Conference Proceedings to qualify for submission in R8 SPC.

Authors

  • Only IEEE Student Members and IEEE Graduate Student Members are permitted to author papers submitted to the Regional SPC in its initial phase. Each author has to be an active member of a Student Branch in Region 8 at the time of the original submission of the paper and a member (student or not) of the IEEE at the time of the oral presentation.
  • The work presented in the paper must have been completed during undergraduate or graduate studies. In other words, the work presented in the paper must not be part of the Ph.D. research. Submission of the paper to the R8 SPC must be completed within 12 months after graduation.
  • After the first R8 SPC phase is completed and the five best papers are selected, finalists’ supervisors/mentors may be added as authors to the final versions (camera-ready papers). This does not change in any way the basic rule that the submitted paper is the work of the student.

Papers

  • Papers should cover technical and engineering aspects of a subject reasonably within or related to the areas with which the IEEE is concerned. The work need not be original in engineering or scientific content but should be original in treatment and clearly show the author’s contribution to the subject.
  • Although the paper previously submitted to the Local Student Paper Contest may be written in local language, the paper submitted to the Regional SPC must be written in English.
  • Previously published work will not be accepted in the R8 Student Paper Contest.
  • The paper should not exceed six (6) pages. Overlength papers will not be considered for the contest.
  • The paper must be written using the two-column IEEE Transaction style. A font size of 10 pt or larger should be used. The IEEE Style Manual and Conference Paper templates in various formats are available here.
  • Please don’t forget to remove authors and institutions from the initial paper! As mentioned above, the final version will contain authors, institutions, and if needed the mentor/supervisor name(s) as well

Rules

(Read Carefully)

  • Applicants to this program can be either Sections or Student Branches;
  • The application should include an endorsement letter:
    • For Sections, only Section Chair, SSAC or SSR can provide an endorsement;
    • For Student Branches, only Student Branch Chair or Counselor can provide an endorsement.
  • Participants should be students affiliated with the organizing OU;
  • The local SPC papers cannot get published on conference proceedings with ISBN;
  • The local contest should follow the rules of R8 SPC;
  • As mentioned above, it is strictly required that the initial version of the SPC paper
    submitted to the R8 SPC does not show the identities of the authors and their higher
    education institutions;
  • The finalists papers of these local events have to be submitted for the Regional Student Paper Contest:
    • 1 finalist for OUs with less than 100 student members;
    • 2 finalists for OUs with 100 – 199 student members;
    • 3 finalists for OUs with more than 200 student members.
    • Note: Student members include both Student Member Grade and Graduate Student Member Grade.
    • Note: Even if a Local SPC is not held by a Student Branch, one paper can be submitted by the
      SB to the Regional SPC if the SB Counselor supports the paper and the paper complies
      with the SPC rules.

 

Submissions

The proposal shall contain the following information:

  • Summary of the proposal (max. 250 words)
  • Description of the Local Student Paper Contest
  • Proposed Title, Date, Venue and Organizing Team
  • Preliminary Budget
  • Suggested Program and Time Schedule
  • Goals and KPIs
    • Provide a short timeframe with milestones
    • The event should be organized within the year of approval and in any case before the R8 SPC deadline for submissions

The submission shall:

  • be a maximum of 6 pages (without endorsement letter);
  • be in Times new roman font and 11 font size;
  • be submitted in pdf format;
  • include as attachment the endorsement letter.

Paper Guidelines are: 

 

Title page. The title should contain the minimum number of keywords necessary to accurately represent the paper’s content.

Abstract. The abstract, no longer than 100 words, should provide the essential facts of the paper’s content, such as a brief statement of the problem or objective and a concise summary of results or conclusions. Methods or other details should only be included if they are unique or of particular significance.

Introduction. The introduction should lead the reader to develop an understanding of the paper’s significance. Background information, including the state of the art, should be provided. The added benefits of the method of approach and the importance of results or conclusions should be emphasized.

Body. The main argument should be presented in a logical sequence according to a prepared outline, complete with supporting data. Writing should be in the third person. Curves, charts, or tables are useful for presenting supporting data and results.

Conclusions. Conclusions are often considered the most important part of a paper. They should be stated concisely in a separate section at the end of the paper. If there are three or more conclusions, numbering each and setting them off in a separate paragraph can increase emphasis.

Appendices. Appendices should be used for detailed mathematical proofs, equation development, and examples that are subordinate to the main argument in the body of the paper but not essential to following the argument. References to appendices should be made in the text.

References. Any information or development taken from external sources, such as books, periodicals, or courses, should be clearly referenced in the text, and a suitable reference list appended to enable readers to consult those sources.

 

 

Submission

  1. As mentioned above, it is strictly required that the initial version of the SPC paper submitted to the R8 SPC does not show the identities of the authors and their higher education institutions.

 

  1. A SPC SUBMISSION PACKAGE includes:

SPC paper

COVER PAGE (send as a Word document)

PAPER SUPPLEMENT (send as a Word document)

COUNSELOR CERTIFICATE (signed by the counselor)

IEEE Copyright form (signed by author)

 

The Cover Page should contain the authors’ and institutions’ data, and the Paper Supplement should provide additional information about the paper, helping the jury members with judging. The Counselor Certificate should confirm the authors’ eligibility for submitting their papers for the SPC, including the author’s IEEE membership number(s), the study level, and the year(s) during which the work was performed. Any other useful information concerning the work and background is welcome.

 

From the Submission Package, only the paper without authors’ names and Paper Supplement will be sent to jury members.

 

  1. The deadline to send SPC papers accompanied by other required documents is normally 1 December of the current year for the contest to be held in the next year. If the deadline is extended, the new deadline will be published on SAC website and in social media.

 

  1. Send the SPC submission packages by email to [email protected].

Judging

Proposals will be judged from R8 SAC in the following areas:

  • Solid content and Planning;
  • Alignment with program goals.
  1. An international Jury will grade the written papers without knowledge of the identity of the authors and their institutions. The number of Jury members is four to five, including the R8 SPC Coordinator.
  2. The contest consists of two parts, a written part and an oral part. The maximum number of points for the written part of the contest is 70, with technical content graded with a maximum of 45 points, and the quality of presentation graded with a maximum of 25 points. Based on the written part, the jury will select five papers for presentation at the Region 8 SPC oral finals. The maximum number of points for the oral part is 30.

 

JURY GUIDELINES ON GRADING THE PAPER

 

  1. To provide a uniform grading standard, the following criteria are suggested:

 

  • Do the authors present their independent work?
  • Is the significant amount of presented work new? Do the authors present a novel interpretation of existing work?
  • Is the subject matter of substantial technical content and is it presented at an acceptably advanced level?
  • Is the 100-word abstract concise, informative and accurate?
  • Does the written presentation include a satisfactory introduction which properly orients the reader with respect to the general area with which the paper deals?
  • Do the conclusions of the paper summarize the reader’s impression of what the work has accomplished? Are the conclusions supported by evidence?
  • Is the paper technically accurate?
  • Does the exposition (and analysis which may be involved) proceed in an orderly and logical manner? Is the paper self-contained (complete, having all that is needed)?
  • Does the author exhibit ingenuity and resourcefulness in methods of presentation, choice of illustrations, use of analogies and the like?
  • Is an unmistakable meaning conveyed with acceptable brevity?
  • Is the format and typesetting quality of the paper appropriate?
  • Is the list of references adequate?
  • Is the text written correctly in terms of English language?

 

About Oral Finals: 

 

  • Finalists selected by the Jury will be invited to present their papers at one of the Region 8 Flagship Conferences within a special SPC session (normally MELECON or EUROCON). Finalists are also invited to attend the conference fully and are waived from paying the conference registration fee. Travel expenses (train 2nd class, bus or plane economy class for long distances) will be provided by the Region 8 Student Activities Fund to one author of each paper accepted for oral presentation. Living expenses which may occur while attending the oral presentation may also be reimbursed. The guidelines for the expense reimbursement will be provided to finalists before the conference.
  • Finalists should give a pleasant and logical presentation of the subject matter suited to 15-20 minutes. The presentation should not attempt to cover the entire paper but rather to give a general idea and enlarge on one or two specific points. The Jury will question each contestant for an additional period of 10 minutes typically.

 

Prizes

  1. Based on both the written and oral parts, the final ranking list will be made. Winners will be announced and awarded at the Awards Ceremony, typically held during the Conference Gala Dinner.
  2. There are cash prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place of $800, $500, and $200, respectively. In addition, the Region 8 Student Activities Committee offers $250 to the Student Branch from which the winner comes.

Funding

The entries which exceed the minimum standards will receive up to 300$ per Student Branch or up to 500$ per Section to be used as secured funding. The funding covers up to 80% of the total budget.

 The funding will be sent in the (parent) Section’s bank.

Reporting

Should your funding be initially approved, you will have to submit follow-up documents after the event takes place.

The required follow-up materials include:

  • Report of the event, including the description of the event and its outcomes
  • Number of attendees (divided according to IEEE and non-IEEE members)
  • Impact of event (presence of any significant participants/speakers, partnerships or collaborations with other IEEE organizational units or Industry, and reach on social media – including posts, amount of views and number of unique engagements)

 

 

Application From: Submit your Application NOW


IEEE Students Awards 2023