Theodoros Chatzinikolaou

Student Paper Contest 2023: Call for Papers

 in Announcements / Latest News and Updates / SPC 2023

GENERAL

The Student Paper Contest (SPC) is one of the main technical activities in Region 8. It was established in 1967 and since then it is an excellent occasion for personal leadership and involvement of student members in a prospective IEEE scientific/technical activity. The contest increases the visibility of student branches and allows for wider promotion of IEEE among students. The success of the SPC relies heavily on the input from the Student Branch Officers, especially the Student Branch Counselor and the Student Branch Chair.

 

Once every year, each IEEE R8 Student Branch (SB) may hold and organize a local Student Paper Contest under its own responsibility. The organization of a local SPC generally means that the contest should be announced publicly in advance and that all submitted papers are to be locally reviewed by qualified specialists. Additionally, all R8/Sections/Chapters IEEE Conferences, having student papers sessions included in their programs, could and should also be used to get additional proposals for SPC. As long as an SB is formally supporting and accepting any type of student papers contest activity, it is in line with the existing SPC rules. Student Branch Counselors should be fully involved in all local SPC activities, as well as all other local IEEE officers (Section Chairs, Chapter Chairs, student activities officers, members of executive committees, etc.).

 

The winner(s) of each local Student Branch Contest may compete in the Region 8 Contest. A Student Branch may submit one paper per every 100 Student Branch members or part thereof, with a maximum of three papers per SB. At the same time, especially in small branches where the managing a local contest is difficult, the IEEE section officers can encourage students to submit their work as a paper to the regional SPC. This is a good exercise for students, especially those who intend to continue to a doctorate. Starting this year, the IEEE Region 8 Student Activities Committee offers funding to IEEE Region 8 Sections and Student Branches to establish local student paper contests, through the Local Student Paper Contest Events Program. The aim of this new program is to increase student paper contest awareness and participation.

 

WHO COULD PARTICIPATE

IEEE Region 8 Student Paper Contest is intended for IEEE R8 student members or graduate student members who have not yet started their Ph.D. The work presented in the paper has to be completed before the student receives the engineering degree that entitles her/him to start preparing a doctoral thesis and it should be not published previously. The submission of a paper for SPC must be no later than 12 months after graduation. 

 

Papers should cover technical and engineering aspects of a subject within or related to the areas with which the IEEE is concerned. The work need not be strictly original in the scientific sense, but it should be original in the treatment of a certain topic and the author’s contribution to that topic should be clearly seen.

 

At initial submission, only students can be authors of the IEEE R8 SPC papers and each author must be a member of an IEEE Student Branch. However, in the second SPC phase, after five finalists are selected, the rules allow a supervisor/mentor to be added as a co-author in the final version of the paper which will be included in the conference proceedings and IEEE Xplore Library. This does not change in any way the basic rule that the submitted paper is the work of the student. At the time of the oral finals, which is normally about a half year after the initial submission, each finalist must be still a member of IEEE.

 

CONTEST PROCEDURE

Submitted papers will be graded by an international jury composed of 4-5 experts who are usually university professors from different Region 8 countries. The review will be double-blind, which means that the judges will handle the papers without knowledge of the identity of the authors/institutions. Jury members can engage other reviewers who are specialists in the corresponding fields. Based on grading, the top 5 papers will be selected. All five finalists (one author per paper) will be invited to present their papers at the IEEE R8 flagship conference EUROCON 2023 in Turin, Italy, on July 6-8, 2023.

 

The oral presentations will be 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 will be 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 will be awarded $250. The top 5 papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings and included in the IEEE Xplore Digital Library.

 

DEADLINE AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The paper submitted for SPC must not contain any data about authors and their institutions. It should not exceed 6 pages and must be written using the two-column IEEE Transaction style (with the space between columns equal to 4.1 mm). Please, carefully read AUTHORS GUIDELINES ON PAPER LAYOUT which is a part of “SPC rules”.

 

The paper must be accompanied by the following documents:

  • COVER PAGE (send as a Word document)
  • PAPER SUPPLEMENT (send as a Word document)
  • COUNSELOR CERTIFICATE (send as a pdf document)
  • IEEE Copyright form (send as a pdf document)

 

The deadline to send full papers to IEEE Region 8 Student Paper Contest 2023 is December 1st December 15th, 2022. Please send papers and supporting documents by email to [email protected].

 

ATTACHMENTS

Student Paper Contest 2022: Final Results

 in Announcements / Hall of Fame / Latest News and Updates / SPC 2022

The final part of the IEEE Region 8 Student Paper Contest, SPC 2022 oral finals, was held within the frame of the IEEE R8 flagship conference MELECON 2022, in Palermo, Italy, on June 14-16, 2022. After two years of adverse circumstances caused by the pandemic (SPC 2020 was held online and SPC 2021 was held in hybrid form), this year we gathered all the finalists and jury members allowing the event to be completely in person. It was the 55th edition of this traditional and important technical activity of the IEEE Region 8.

 

 

Members of the international jury who assessed the student papers in the first (written) part and presentations in the second (oral) part of the contest were Prof. Paul Micallef from Malta, Prof. Mike Hinchey from Ireland, Prof. Giambattista Gruosso from Italy and Prof. Vera Markovic from Serbia, who is also the SPC coordinator. Many thanks for their efforts and dedication!

 

 

We were very honored by the presence of Antonio Luque, IEEE Region 8 director, Vincenzo Piuri, IEEE Region 8 Director elect, Simay Akar, IEEE Region 8 Student Activities Committee Chair, Habib Kammoun, R8 conference coordination committee chair and Theodoros Chatzinikolaou, Regional Student Representative, at the SPC 2022 oral finals.

 

Final Results

 

Given the high level of quality of works and presentations, the jury didn’t have an easy task to select the winners. The FIRST PRIZE and an award of $800 went to Zixuan Huang from Imperial College London, UK, for the paper entitled: “Beam-switching Circularly Polarized Antenna Array for Cold-chain Tracking RFID Applications”. In addition, the student branch of the SPC 2022 winner, Imperial College London SB, got a special award “Dick Poortvliet” of $250.

 

 

The winner of the SECOND PRIZE and the award of $500 is Lorenzo Lagostina from Politecnico di Torino, Italy, for the paper entitled: “Design of Low-power Arithmetic Logic Circuits for 45 nm CMOS Technology”

 

 

The THIRD PRIZE and award of $200 went to Emilija Ćojbašić from University of Niš, Serbia, for the paper entitled:  “Machine learning as an aid to predicting clinical outcome after stroke”.

 

 

The author of the paper placed in fourth place is Kristjan Cuznar from University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and his co-author and supervisor is Miha Glavan from Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia. The paper is entitled: “Optimization of cold rolling process recipes based on historical data”

 

 

Finally, the paper authored by Matthieu Brabant from Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, with two co-authors (supervisors): Olivier Pereira from Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, and Pierrick Méaux from University of Luxembourg, entitled: “Homomorphic Encryption for Privacy-Friendly Augmented Democracy”, took fifth place.

 

Congratulations to the authors of the top five papers and branches where the finalists come from! All five papers are published in the MELECON 2022 Proceeding and in the IEEExplore digital library. Special CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd award! Many thanks to all participants in the SPC 2022! We expect many high-quality student papers for the SPC 2023.

 

 

Students’ Impressions

❝ The SPC oral final is a perfect opportunity to get to know the far-reaching research conducted by researchers from other universities. You are able to see how they identify, analyze, and tackle the problems they encountered. Competing with four other final lists was also a great experience, from which I could learn a lot about how to conduct and present research. Last but not least, it is a great experience to travel to a new country and savor a different culture.❞

~ Zixuan Huang

❝ The SPC has been an incredibly enriching experience for me. Writing a paper allowed me to drastically improve the way I present information, and also led me to a deeper understanding of my work while discussing some unexpected results. Presenting in front of such a jury has been an exciting moment that boosted my confidence. Last but not least, attending to the conference, listening to other researchers and meeting students and PhDs from all over the world has just been so thrilling. I really encourage future students to jump in this adventure, you won’t regret it.❞

~ Lorenzo Lagostina

❝ The SPC Oral Finals were a great honor and a privilege for me, as well as a remarkable opportunity to present my student research and gain some precious new experience. The chance to attend the renowned MELECON 2022 conference, meet the other outstanding finalists and exchange knowledge and impressions, and enjoy the charming city of Palermo was truly wonderful. This has given me the motivation to conduct further research, as well as to consider an academic career in the future.❞

~ Emilija Cojbasic

❝ The SPC oral finals were my first real steps into academia. It was a wonderful experience, from the research to the presentation of the results to other experts in the field. The trip itself and the time spent with foreign colleagues was also a special experience that I will never forget.❞

~ Kristjan Cuznar

❝ The Student Paper Competition was a great opportunity to attend and present at a major international conference. We had the opportunity to meet many doctoral and post-docs from all over the world in a challenging but relaxed Mediterranean atmosphere.❞

~ Matthieu Brabant

IEEE R8 SYP Congress 2022 Funded Registration Applications – Deadline: June 10th

 in Announcements / Announcements and Updates / News

IEEE Region 8 Student and Young Professional Congress 2022 will take place in Tunis, Tunisia, from the 3rd to 7th of August. In order to improve the participants’ overall experience and guarantee the success of the SYP Congress, IEEE Region 8 will fund attendance for a chosen number of eligible participants. You can now apply for this funded participation by filling in the application form by June 10th. For the full details regarding the funding policy, please review the Funding Policy document.

 

If your application for funding is ACCEPTED:
– You will be granted a registration for the Congress including everything that a General Registration* would have;
– You will have to pay the registration fee and only after the Congress will you be reimbursed;
– You must follow the funding policy and all its requirements before, during and after the Congress in order to remain qualified for reimbursement. Your attendance will be noted at all times.

 

If your application for funding is REJECTED:
– You will not be granted a registration for the Congress;
– You may still register as a participant for the Congress by purchasing a General Registration Ticket.

 

* General Registration (350 USD) includes accommodation with breakfast (arranged by the Congress), coffee and lunch breaks, dinners and participation in all congress sessions.

 

IMPORTANT DATES:
– Funding Application Period: from May 19th to June 10th
– Funding Application Result Announcement: released before June 15th
– Payment of Funded Registration Period: TBA
– Registration and Payment period for Non-Funded Registrations: TBA

 

For more information, please check our FAQ section in the SYP webpage: r8syp.ieee.tn/faq. If your question is related to funding, please contact us at [email protected] and [email protected]. For any other questions, please contact us through the general email [email protected].

Career Path through Volunteering

 in Our Webinars

 

When? May 7th, 2022

 

Who? Mohamed Amin, IEEE R8 SAC Team

 

What? Each team member’s volunteer journey towards regional student activities and multicultural experience. How has Volunteering paved the way in their Career? Special insight from our guest Mohamed Amin! Your volunteer engagement opportunities in IEEE R8 SAC Team 2022 working groups and new projects in 2022. 12 members around the Region 8 Sections have gathered to support and empower all Student Branches, Chapters, Affinity Groups in Region 8! Use this amazing chance to connect to IEEE R8 SAC Team 2022 and expand your volunteer career in the IEEE.

 

 

Region 8 Student Branch of the Year Award

 in R8 Awards Details

The purpose of this award is to identify the Student Branches that have conducted quality events, workshops, projects, etc. for the benefit of students. The Region 8 Student Branch of the Year Award is given to student branches that have maintained membership, provided student members with opportunities to volunteer, and helped in promotion of IEEE and its mission. This award will help improve the membership, membership satisfaction and retention.

 

Eligibility Criteria

All Region 8 Student Branches that have been applied for the IEEE Regional Exemplary Student Branch Award are eligible for this award.

 

Nomination Process

All eligible Student Branches are nominated automatically.

 

Deadline

Deadline is considered the MGA SAC Awards official deadline.

 

Evaluation Criteria

Awards will be presented to those Student Branches with best operations and events. Student Branches that met the most required and additional documentation of the IEEE Regional Exemplary Student Branch Award will be considered for this award. Additional verification and/or documentation should be available upon request.

 

Prize

A customized digital certificate.

Region 8 Outstanding Student Branch Website Award

 in R8 Awards Details

This award is aimed to recognize those student websites that provide information about the activities, latest tech updates, learning opportunities, IEEE Benefits etc. through creative digital efforts aimed to make it easy for students of their student branch to obtain the information. Usually, a website becomes the face of an organisation and the main information provider to the  interested parties.

 

Eligibility Criteria

All Region 8 Student Branches and Student Branch Chapters are eligible to participate. Each Student Branch may enter at most one Website, regardless of the number of Student Branch Chapters or Affinity Groups present.

 

Nomination Process

Nomination can be submitted only by a Student Branch officer (i.e Student Branch Chair, Student Branch Counsellor or any other Student Branch Officer) using the IEEE Region 8 Awards platform. During the period of judging, no changes to the website will be permitted. If any changes found the submission will be disqualified. Regular updates related to Student Branch Events and Meetings & Opportunity etc. are permitted.

 

Deadline

Deadline follows the Region 8 Awards official deadline.

 

Evaluation Criteria

The goal of a website is to convey information in a manner useful to the reader, similar to the goal in writing a paper. How you convey the information can increase readers’ interest as well as their knowledge. For example, a page of text provides useful information but is not visually attractive. The same text with the appropriate colored figures, JavaScript, etc., can deliver significantly more information while motivating the reader to read further. Poorly designed websites either provide no useful content or are hard to use (takes too long, user cannot find the desired information, etc.). Thus, the hallmarks of a good website are:

  • Usability
  • Accessibility
  • Solid content
  • Presentation
  • Navigability
  • Originality
  • Portable

Web browsers, computer processing speeds, and network bandwidth vary in every instance causing websites to download at different rates. Websites should accommodate for the least common denominator in each category. Thus the criteria of usability, accessibility, content, presentation, navigability, originality, portability, and load time are the judging categories.

 

Prize

  • 1st Prize: $300
  • 2nd Prize: $200
  • 3rd Prize: $100

Region 8 Section Student Membership Development Award

 in R8 Awards Details

Τhere is a need to recognize the essential work of the sections in Region 8 regarding student membership development, but also to promote and encourage sections to work on that direction. The purpose of this award is to recognize the greatest student membership development efforts by Region 8 Sections. The following categories of Sections will be considered:

  • Large Section: 451 or more total student members as of 31 December of the past year
  • Medium Section: 151–450 total student members as of 31 December of the past year
  • Small Section: 150 or fewer total student members as of 31 December of the past year

 

Eligibility Criteria

  • All Region 8 Sections which have appointed and reported a SSAC (“Student Activities” officer position) and/or a SSR (“SAC-Representative (Student Representative)” officer position) are eligible for the award according to their relative size;
  • Three such Awards will be presented annually; one for each category.

 

Nomination Process

All eligible Sections are nominated automatically. “Gold medalists” should provide information for their best practices on student membership development in September.

 

Deadline

The deadline of the award is considered to be prior to the Autumn Region 8 Meeting.

 

Evaluation Criteria

The retention and recruiting goals for student membership and the best practices in student membership development with information for student membership promotion and student activities are considered in the selection of this Award. A “silver medal” is awarded if one goal is achieved, and “gold medal” is awarded if both goals are achieved. The “gold medal” with the best practices in student membership development should be considered the winner of this Award. 

 

Prize

A digital medal for medalists. A digital certificate, a customized award plaque and $500 cash award for each winner for use on Student Activities purposes for winners.