There was plenty of engagement among the PES Young Professionals community over April, ranging from organization of local seminars in lieu of PES History Day to the launch of the second edition of the global milestelfie contest. Like last year, the contest is open to all IEEE members, who need to shoot a photo of themselves with a designated IEEE milestone in the same frame, and share it on social media sites. We call these photos ‘milestelfies’, and the individual with most milestelfies will win the competition. More details about the competition can be found on the website: http://site.ieee.org/pes-yp/milestelfies-photo-contest/

Region 10 reported more than 7 activities in April.  The Teaching and Learning Committee of IIT Mandi in collaboration with IEEE Student Branch of IIT Mandi and IEEE PES-IAS Chapter, Delhi Section, R10, organized a one-day teaching workshop for Teaching Assistants (Research Scholars) TAs, on 28th April, 2018. The workshop familiarized research scholars with aspects related to teaching, which is important for pursuing a career in academia. IEEE Student chapters in the same university also initiated and successfully executed industrial visits for its members, and young professionals before they enter the workforce in the ensuing year.

April also saw global celebrations of IEEE PES day. PES YP held a global webinar on OpenDSS modeling – with the lead developer of the simulation software, Mr. Davis Montnegro from EPRI delivering an engaging presentation. Several other IEEE regions, including R8 and R10, celebrated IEEE PES day with local speakers and activities. As a highlight, Hitec University, Taxila, Pakistan, organized two technical Sessions, including one on Virtual Reality and its importance.

In April, the IEEE Transmission and Distribution Conference was held in Denver, Colorado. The conference saw great participation and member engagement in the PES Young Professional panel session. The panelists included PES YP members – Mr. Anthony Deese, Mr. Chiranjeevi Bala, Brandon Dupui, and Janson Ferrera – who shared interesting industry insights, and experiences of a young professional power engineer, while they transition from university to the industry. The IEEE PES YP panel session is also scheduled to happen in Portland, Ore., in August, during the IEEE PES General Meeting.

Sayonsom Chanda
Vice Chair, PES YP Committee