For IEEE PES Day, an event was hosted at the University of Balamand (UOB) in Lebanon where students from two universities attended: BAU and City University of Tripoli.

As the Chair of the IEEE PES Chapter at UOB, I was fortunate to have been selected to be the ambassador of the IEEE PES Day in Lebanon. For this occasion, the IEEE Student Branch and the PES Chapter at UOB collaborated to host an event to celebrate the PES Day. This was only achieved through the unwavering support that the university had offered to its IEEE Student Branch.

The event started by a welcoming message from our PES Chapter, which reflected our enthusiasm to celebrate PES Day at university, and more importantly, in Lebanon. This was followed by a speech on behalf of UOB Vice President and Dean of Engineering Dr. Michel Najjar, given by Assistant Dean of Engineering, Dr. Elie Karam.

A recap of the old activities organized last year by the PES SB chapter was presented by past chair of UOB – IEEE PES SB Chapter, Ms. Katia Karam. Next, a plan for the future activities that will be done, and which include several site visits and workshops was announced by Vice Chair Elect of UOB – IEEE PES SB Chapter, Mr. Ramez Tohme.

This was followed by a word from our Keynote Guest, Chair of the joint chapter representing IEEE PES Lebanon Section Dr. Walid Kamali, such that he presented the history of PES and the benefits you get from joining PES. His presence showed all the attendees the importance of the IEEE PES Lebanon Section. Thanks to him and his encouraging words, students are now inspired and motivated to strive for the best

Finally, UOB Alumna, Ms. Kamila Wehbe, who has been recognized as a success story in the industry was welcomed to share with the students her success story and her experience in the power engineering field.

The celebration ceremony was concluded with cake cutting followed by a small buffet for all the students, faculty members, and guests.

Sandra Haidar
UOB IEEE Student Branch & UOB IEEE PES Student Chapter