As part of the PES Day celebrations 2021, IEEE PES Kerala Chapter in collaboration with IEEE PES Young Professionals Kerala, along with IEEE SB GECT conducted an E-panel discussion on Clean Energy Project Development and the Opportunities it has in IEEE on the 23rd of April 2021. The event was held on WebEx platform, led by panellists Professor Dr. Shaikh A Fattah, Chair, IEEE PES Humanitarian Activity Committee, Dr. Hussain Fahih Mahdi, Membership Development Lead, 2021-22 R10 Humanitarian Technology Activities, Dr. Thiago Ribeiro de Alencar, Chair, PES Chapters Student Activities Committee along with Ms. Nirupama Prakash Kumar, Humanitarian Activity Lead, PES-Day 2021 as the keynote speaker and moderated by Mr. Albin Paul, Humanitarian Activity Coordinator, IEEE PES Kerala Chapter and IEEE PES YP Kerala.


Event Poster

Following a brief welcome to all the panellists, the discussion started with an importance of Humanitarian Technology focusing on clean energy by Dr. Shaikh Fattah, bringing to the attention of the audience the 67.5% increase in humanitarian activities by PES Student Branches worldwide, encouraging engineering enthusiasts to utilize renewables for smart applications. In his discussion of the various projects that promote clean energy for the benefit of humanity, Dr. Fattah elaborated the IEEE Smart Village initiatives that supports energy to schools, clean water, agriculture and street lights for the economically backward, “Demystifying Nuclear Power” a project funded by the IEEE Foundation that recently helped many university students to know more detailed about necessity of the under-construction first nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.


A glimpse of the session

The discussion proceeded with Dr Hussain Mahdi explaining the need for Humanitarian Technologies that supports clean water and sanitation through renewable energy. Stating the mission of IEEE HAC that supports sustainable development and humanitarian technology, Dr. Mahdi enlightened students and aspiring entrepreneurs about the key factors behind a successful project, the standouts being ones that promote research and immediate disaster relief, providing insights into the funding aspect of various humanitarian technology SIGHT projects that align with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

Continued by Dr. Thiago Alencar, the discussion witnessed the various attempts by IEEE PES to introduce its members to various humanitarian technology related aspects of engineering including IEEE PES Lighting for Humanity event training for individuals, workshops, lectures, hackathons, technical visits, and online competitions for students amidst the pandemic. This was followed by a brief outlook on the implications of poor standards of living in various parts of the globe by Ms. Nirupama Prakash, encouraging students to take up humanitarian projects that benefit the community and help alleviate the economically suppressed sections of society.

The event saw panellists answering various questions from a curious audience relating to humanitarian technology related projects and the challenges imposed by the pandemic and ended with Paul B Kalarikkal, Chair IEEE PES GECT SB Chapter, delivering the vote of thanks on behalf of IEEE GECT SB.

Paul B Kalarikkal
Chair, IEEE PES SBC GECT
Government Engineering College, Thrissur