The future of your Society is fast approaching. Today’s Young Professionals will soon be the leaders of IEEE Societies and Councils, which is why it is so important to engage them now. Eddie Custovic, the Editor-in-Chief of IMPACT (IEEE Young Professionals’ publication) and IEEE Publication Services and Products Board (PSPB) Young Professional member, shares his story of how he became involved with IEEE. He also discusses strategies and tactics Societies can use to recruit, retain, and, most importantly, engage Young Professionals.
Eddie and entrepreneurship, tell us more about that.
My passion for entrepreneurship extends to the global scene. I have founded and am chairing the inaugural IEEE congress for students and young professionals on the topic of entrepreneurship, innovation and start-ups in my birth country of Bosnia & Herzegovina. I am hoping to use technology and my knowledge to empower young people in a country which has been plagued by political issues after the civil war. The congress aims to break down ethnic barriers by educating the youth about the power of innovation. It is my sincere hope that we will launch several start-ups in the coming 12 months as a result of the congress. I am working closely with the Youth Employment Project, IEEE Entrepreneurship, the UN and the IEEE Bosnia & Herzegovina Section.
You mentioned your involvement with the IEEE Entrepreneurship Initiative and the La Trobe University Incubator, can you discuss why you believe entrepreneurship is important to technology young professionals?
Entrepreneurship is about taking calculated risks and having a good understanding of the business world. Furthermore, it is the relentless drive to keep going no matter what is happening around you. Tolerance, dedication, focus are some of the key characteristics one must possess to be successful. Entrepreneurs build networks and work across unconventional boundaries to make things happen! The importance of entrepreneurship to technology young professionals couldn’t be more obvious, yet it is often overlooked.
Entrepreneurs can change the way we live and work. If successful, their innovations may improve our standard of living. Creating wealth from their entrepreneurial ventures, they also create jobs and the conditions for a prosperous society. IEEE and our members are at the forefront of technology and young professionals are the prime demographic to take full advantage of the digital world and the disruptive technologies that we as technologists and engineers are responsible for. There are too many instances in the recent past and throughout history where great scientists, engineers and technologists did not realise their full potential, lacking basic entrepreneurial knowledge. Granted not all of us are destined to be entrepreneurs. There is a fundamental difference between being an “innovator” and being an “entrepreneur”. It is possible to be one but not the other. Nikola Tesla is the perfect example of someone who had an extraordinary gift for innovating but was clearly not an entrepreneur, Westinghouse and J.P Morgan were. Unlike the turn of the 20th century, in this day and age all STEM career orientated individuals can take advantage of entrepreneurship information, networks, meet-ups and forums to see their innovations come to reality and most importantly be in the driving seat to see it through! IEEE N3XT is a great source of information and inspiration. By bringing together the technical entrepreneur community, this event will foster collaboration and innovation, as well as provide encouragement and skills building to entrepreneurs looking to make their mark.
How did you initially become involved with IEEE?
I heard about the IEEE while I was in the final year of high school. I was trying to determine what career path to follow while surfing the web and came across an interesting article with the IEEE branding. That logo was something that I remembered. At university, we had many IEEE members but no student branch, and as a result, I had no interaction with the organisation. I remember attending an Australian IEEE student congress and learning about all the benefits of being a member. I was inspired by the diversity of IEEE members who, despite extremely busy schedules, dedicated so much time to help others and advance technology for humanity. I joined that day. Within a few months I established a student chapter at my university and never looked back. I am still involved in that student branch as an advisor, but I must say that I feel enormous pride seeing students at the university undertaking amazing work under the IEEE banner.
You mentioned that Societies should establish better working relationships with Young Professionals leaders. What do these leaders uniquely have to offer their respective Society or Council, the Young Professionals program, and the greater IEEE organization?
Like all societies, sections affinity groups, etc., the IEEE Young Professionals group has a governing structure of regional coordinators, affinity group chairs, and society representatives. Our affinity group is led by a global chair and four vice-chairs (products & services, communications & marketing, strategic partnerships, and leadership & training) which regularly work with MGA staff and IEEE senior leadership to develop strategies to best deliver value for young professional members. The volunteers at this level are highly trained and experienced individuals whose main aim is to synchronise all IEEE Young Professional activities. This ensures that the operation of day-to-day activities is smoother, volunteers are trained on a best practice basis, volunteers around the world are provided with regular support, and most importantly, that awareness of activities is raised amongst all members.
One society which has demonstrated outstanding engagement and can serve as an example to others, is the Microwave Theory and Techniques (MTT). The Young Professional chair of this technical society has been deeply engaged with the IEEE Young Professionals leadership group and society leadership, enabling MTT to take advantage of the full Young Professional membership base. MTT’s Young Professionals activities have been trailblazing from technical workshops to social/networking activities at conferences and other major exhibitions and symposia. Society engagement with the Young Professional leadership provides them with an opportunity to attract more Young Professionals and thus improve not only membership numbers but demonstrate why their society is an exciting home for young people.
What do you see as the future for IEEE?
IEEE will continue to foster the values it has been for such a long time. We are the trusted voice for our profession and will continue to facilitate the exchange of technical knowledge for the profession and humanity. The IEEE of the future will become even more of a global organisation than it currently is. We can clearly see that membership growth is occurring outside of the traditional regions, and as such we must quickly adopt to the needs of these members. The IEEE of the future will be a completely interdisciplinary organisation based on current trends. We can see that technology is embedded in all walks of life, and we will see for example more professionals from medicine, biology, civil engineering, and construction embracing the IEEE. Smart buildings, smart cities, and the internet of things are just some of the technological phenomena which are forcing interdisciplinary collaboration and IEEE has an opportunity to be at the centre of this collaboration.
To learn more about IEEE Young Professionals or to contact the Executive Team, visit typ.ieee.org.
Source: https://sites.ieee.org/spotlight/eddie-custovic-engaging-young-professionals/
Photo: Students of Faculty of Electrical Engineering East Sarajevo – workshop
