Dr. Akihiro Ametani, a Professor Emeritus of Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan, passed away on January 4, 2022. He was elevated to the IEEE Fellow status in 1992 “for contributions to the analysis of electrical transients in power systems” and became a Life Fellow in 2009. He made notable achievements in the field of power engineering. In particular, his distinguished achievements are the development of computational models including the frequency-dependent line model for electromagnetic transients (EMT) analysis and the development of line/cable constant calculation programs represented by the “CABLE CONSTANTS” of Electro-Magnetic Transients Program developed by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA-EMTP, Portland, Oregon, USA) and “CABLE CONSTANTS/CABLE PARAMETERS” of Alternative Transients Program (ATP). He had greatly contributed to the development of the power engineering community.

Professor Ametani received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan in 1966 and 1968 respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) (present the University of Manchester), the U.K. in 1973. He became an Assistant Professor at Doshisha University in 1968 and started his career as an academic. From 1971, he was engaged in research on power system transients at the UMIST as a research assistant and a Ph.D. student of the late Professor Martin Wedepohl. From 1976 through 1982 and in 1987 and 1988, he was engaged in the development of EMTP at the BPA. Professor Ametani became an Associate Professor in 1976 and then a Full Professor in 1985 at Doshisha University, and a Professor Emeritus of Doshisha University in 2014. He served as a Visiting Professor for Ecole Polytechnique of Montreal, Canada from 2014 through 2018, and for the University of Manitoba, Canada from 2019.

Professor Ametani had the Fellow statuses of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan (IEEJ). He was a Distinguished Member of the Conseil International des Grands Reseaux Electriques (CIGRE, International Council on Large Electric Systems). In 2010, Professor Ametani was awarded the D.Sc. degree from the University of Manchester in recognition of his contribution to the field of power system transients. He was also deeply involved in the International Conference on Power System Transients (IPST) and served as the co-chairman for the Steering Committee of the IPST. He greatly contributed to the management of International Universities Power Engineering Conference (UPEC).

He authored or co-authored more than 150 international journal papers including IEEE and IEE (present IET) transaction papers. He published about 20 textbooks. Of them, “Cable System Transients – Theory, Modeling and Simulation (IEEE Press, Wiley, 2015) and “Electromagnetic Transients in Large HV Cable Networks (IET, 2021)” are truly appreciated in the world as standard guides for EMT analysis of cable systems and textbooks for engineers and researchers in the field of electrical engineering.

Professor Ametani was strongly dedicated to education, research and development, and other activities throughout his lifetime. His contributions to the IEEE PES continue to be sincerely appreciated. His absence will be keenly felt by the IEEE PES community for years to come.

May his soul rest in peace.

Naoto Nagaoka
Professor, Doshisha University, JAPAN

Shozo Sekioka
Professor, Shonan Institute of Technology, JAPAN

Hideki Motoyama
Associate Vice President, CRIEPI, JAPAN

After a huge success in 2021, PES Humanitarian Activity Committee (PES-HAC) launched the second edition of the Humanitarian Technology Project Design Competition (HTPDC) during the PES Day 2021. The registration process has been started and a good number of teams have already registered. Due to ongoing University Examinations, there were several requests from interested participants to extend the registration deadline. The HTPDC Organizing Committee is pleased to extend the registration date until 5^th May 2022. The registration link is available here.

In the HTPDC 2021 there were 65 teams (19 Sections/ 12 Countries) registered during that event. The local round events were held in six different locations across the globe. Experts from seven different countries judged the competition. A total of $ 1000 was awarded to the winners of the event.

The HTPDC is not just a project design competition, it offers:

1. Online Training Sessions on Humanitarian Technology Project Design
2. Live Virtual Discussion Forum
3. Live Virtual and Online Feedback on Project Design
4. Local and Final Rounds of Competition based on video presentation and virtual Q/A.

The details are available on the website; however, a few key points are mentioned here:

• HTPDC is an idea sharing competition with the major components such as objective, challenges, humanitarian aspects, technical details, feasibility of the project, sustainability, etc. There is no working model/ prototype mandatory.
• A team of 3 – 10 members (mostly students) is preferred where the team lead must IEEE and PES member along with the overall PES membership of 30% members. (For example, if a team of 3 members formed, the team lead being the IEEE and PES member satisfies both the conditions)
• Based on the submitted video, document, and online presentation, winners in the local round and final round will be selected. Only selected winners in the local round will be given the opportunity to present in the final round.
• Prize money amounting $ 1500 to be awarded. (Winner – $ 500, Runners up – $ 400, Honourable Mentions (3 nos.) – $ 200 each)
• Depending on the project quality, some selected projects will be invited to submit a detailed project proposal for IEEE PES-HAC Project Funding after the final round of competition. (detailed instruction will be provided later)

Training Sessions

PES-HAC in association with several OUs have organized several interactive training sessions where the participants were briefed about the competition HTPDC. The PES-HAC Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and some of the Working Group Chairs of PES-HAC conduct the training.

Contact for Queries:
info.pes.hac@gmail.com
s.a.fattah@ieee.org

Tanmoy Roy Choudhury, Ph. D., C. Eng., SMIEEE
Secretary, PES-HAC
Asst Prof, School of EE, KIIT Deemed to be University

The project “Gammeddata IEEE Api” is an initiative of the IEEE PES SB Chapter of the University of Moratuwa and is organized in collaboration with the Industry Applications Society (IAS), Robotics and Automation Society (RAS), Industrial Electronics Society (IES) Student Branch Chapters and the IEEE Student Branch of the University of Moratuwa. The main objective of this project is to lend a helping hand to the enthusiastic school children who live in Sri Lanka to have exposure to trending technology-related topics. For the year 2022, the project has been organized as “Gammeddata IEEE Api – phase 3” with its proud and awarded history of Darrel Chong Student Activity Award, Silver Category for phase 1 and Gold for phase 2.

The “Gammeddata IEEE Api – phase 3” launched as a webinar series conducted for four days on various technology-related topics that are trending in the world including Python programming language, Sensors and actuators, DIY projects. As the event had to be conducted during the pandemic, it had been conducted as a virtual event via Zoom during 26-27 March and 2-3 April 2022 from 2.30 PM to 9.30 PM. The experienced young professionals and undergraduates had enlightened the sessions. The sessions were conducted in both Sinhala and Tamil languages to overcome the language barriers as the students had participated around Sri Lanka. Around 70+ volunteers had joined in volunteering to pave the path to the success of this project and around 6000+ registrations for the sessions had proven that phase 3 had reached higher success in this “Gammeddata IEEE Api” journey.

Finally, it can be concluded that the great effort put into action by identifying the necessity to encourage and support those future engineers had added new value and knowledge to their lives to carry out their endeavors and the future of technical industries of our country.

Dinithi Senarath
Secretary, PES SB Chapter, University of Moratuwa.

PES SB Chapter at the University of Manchester (UoM) hosted the 2^nd Virtual Pub Quiz competition on power and energy topics. This social activity was organized to promote knowledge of IEEE, IEEE PES, and the latest development in the power and energy space among university students all over the world. This event attracted 20 registrations and was hosted via the Zoom online meeting platform on 31^st March 2022.

Mr. Omoniyi Akinpelumi, the Chair of the PES SB Chapter, made a welcome opening remark and thereafter gave a brief talk on the vision and mission of the SB chapter. He also explained some of the importance and benefits of IEEE and IEEE PES opportunities to university students. The power and energy quiz session took place thereafter with a total of 40 questions contended, ranging from IEEE development-related questions to foundational electrical engineering questions. The Kahoot online application software was used as the quiz platform and hence was used to capture both the correctness and timeliness of answers in ensuring fair competition for the prize awards, thus attendees were all fully focused and excited.

The quiz winners were awarded cash prizes. This event received positive feedback from attendees, with comments buzz words including “well-designed”, “fun”, and “informative”. The PES SBC at UoM would like to thank all the attendees for their participation and we hope to continue this kind of activity next year.

PES UoM SB Chapter’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on 11^th Feb 2022. A detailed review of events organized by the outgoing committee was presented and a democratic election for the different roles was conducted. Mr. Keyi Wang who is the outgoing Chair highlighted the many successes recorded within his tenure ranging from the organization of periodical virtual pub-quiz shows, the increase in the SBC’s social media followings and more importantly, the successful virtual hosting of a site visit to Drax Power Station and the MEEPS conference. Based on these excellent achievements, the SBC was awarded the best IEEE PES SBC for IEEE Region 8 in the special category awards. As regards the elections, Omoniyi Akinpelumi, who served as the vice-chair for the outgoing committee, was elected as the new chair of the SBC committee. Details of the other new committee members are listed below.

2022 PES UoM SB Chapter Committee:

Information on new SB Chapter committee members as seen below have their photos arranged above, from top left to bottom right.

Chair: Omoniyi Akinpelumi,

Vice-Chair: Wenzhu Liu

Secretary: Omer Elmogamer

Treasurer/Event Coordinator: Airam Perez Guillen

Industrial Liaison Officer: Christian Nwosu

Social Media/Events & Publicity Officer: Xinyun Liu

Web Coordinator: Shuai Wang

For more information on the PES UoM SB Chapter, visit: http://www.ieee-manchester.org.uk/

Omoniyi Akinpelumi
PES SB Chapter at the University of Manchester

Industrial Visit

An industrial visit to “NUETECH SOLAR PVT. LTD.”, Bangalore, India was organized by the Department of EEE, PES/IAS joint SB chapter, and IEEE PELS chapter. Thirty-three EEE students and three faculty members joined the event. It was a great opportunity for the participants to get hands-on experience and interact with the industry personnel to know the detailed mechanism, the design evolution, current market evolutions, and the latest most demanding technologies. The visit ended with a great field experience.

Tech-talk Series

A Tech-talk series was organized virtually in March consisting of 6 talks:

• Techniques of Business Analysis in Software Engineering
  Anusha Kumar
  Techno Functional Analyst
  Data-driven Finance Risk and Compliance Team, Capgemini, India
• The importance on Data Analytics in companies
  Sujith Achuthan
  Senior Business Intelligence Engineer, Amazon EU
• Cyber Security for Engineers
  Mr Sachin S Kamath
  Offensive Security Lead, Axiata Group
• Business analytics and business intelligence for beginners
  Ms Sharmiela Selvaraj
  Analytics Consultant- Business Intelligence
• Introduction to building distributed systems in the cloud
  Ms Lekshmi Unnikrishnan
  Senior Software Engineer, Amazon Web Services, Seattle, USA
• Introduction to Data Analysis using R
  Ms Aarathy Babu
  Infectious Disease Modeller, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Australia

This Tech-talk series provided a better understanding to the participants on the trending business analysis, data analytics, and cybersecurity in all the different fields of engineering. These events helped the participants to grab handsome knowledge to excel in their fields and to envision inter-disciplinary works in various fields of engineering.

Women’s Day Celebration

As a part of Women’s Day celebration three events were organized with renowned female speakers from Alumni, Academia, and a Fireside Chat with Industry Directors was also arranged. The Alumini talk was in offline mode on “Industrial Expectation” by Ms Akshitha Akasapu (Developer, TCS). The Undergraduate participants took many take aways that could indeed help them with their placements. In collaboration with IEEE PELS Bangalore Chapter, IEEE IES Bangalore Chapter and IEEE WIE Bangalore Section, a talk on “Modern Power Distribution” by Dr M. Venkata Kirthiga (Assistant Professor, NIT-Tiruchirappalli) was organized.

The Fireside Chat was organized in collaboration with IEEE WIE Bangalore Section. The gathered members and the students began the day with a Women’s Day celebration and cake cutting, casual discussion, and snacks. The formal event commenced with Dr. Kumudhini Ravindra, Chair WIE Bangalore Section sharing a few words on the women in the industry and their journey and inviting the speakers and the moderator for the fireside chat, Ms Parvathi Rachakonda, Manager at IBM. The discussion continued with the speakers Rajeshwari Sundaranjan, Senior Director, Epsilon and Jyothy Shetty, Engineering Director Microfocus sharing their perspective of the industry required skills needed to be imbibed by the new technology graduates. It was an interactive session where many students interacted with the speakers and discussed their careers.

The PES/IAS joint SB Chapter of Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Bangalore, India would like to thank all the speakers and the wonderful participants for making these virtual and offline events a grand success and looks forward to organizing more events in future.

Reddi Vivek Vardhan
Vice-Chairperson, PES/IAS joint SB Chapter, ASEB

Since its first formulation in 1962, the AC optimal power flow (ACOPF) problem has been one of the most important optimization problems in electric power systems and is amongst the first that power systems engineers experience in their education.  In its most common formulation, electric power generation costs are minimized subject to network flow constraints, generator capacity constraints, line capacity constraints, and bus voltage constraints. As such, the ACOPF finds its greatest practical application in electric power systems markets where electric power is sold at the minimum cost while still securing the reliability of the electric power grid.

Unfortunately, this ACOPF formulation is a non-convex optimization problem that consequently falls into the as-yet-unsolved space of computationally complex (NP-hard) problems. Although the globally optimal solution has been elusive, the power systems field has developed a rich volume of OPF literature spanning six decades. Collectively, these works have offered numerous relaxations and approximations to the ACOPF. A dozen review articles published over that period show many hundreds of articles on the topic. The most famous approximation, the DCOPF (Direct Current Optimal Power Flow) has been at the heart of many wholesale, deregulated, “real-time” energy markets found at many independent system operators worldwide.

Such relaxations and approximations of the ACOPF result in economically suboptimal solutions that do not necessarily secure the grid. Consequently, downstream reliability procedures from control operators and automatic control systems are needed to ensure that the grid is dispatched reliably. While the potential impact on reliability can be mitigated, energy regulators have estimated that the sub-optimality costs the United States $6-19B per year. Furthermore, the sustainable energy transition necessitates renewed attention towards the ACOPF.

1. In order to support the integration of distributed generation and energy storage, electric power systems markets are expanding beyond their traditional implementation as wholesale markets in the transmission system to retail markets in the distribution system and microgrids.  In North America, this would constitute a dramatic proliferation of the optimal power flow problem from the nine independent system operators to potentially thousands of electric distribution system utilities and operators.
2. The radial and large-scale nature of distribution systems necessitates scalable ACOPF algorithms.
3. Distribution systems feature a prominent role for line losses, nodal voltages, and reactive power flows which disqualifies many of the typical OPF approximations.
4. Fourth, the integration of variable renewable energy resources further necessitates the participation of demand-side resources in two-sided markets.
5. Finally, as the electric power grid activates these demand-side resources, it also integrates itself with the operation of other infrastructures including water, transportation, industrial production, natural gas, and heat. The non-convexity of the electric power network flow equations – as they are commonly stated – impedes the effective sector coupling of multiple infrastructure sectors.

Collectively, these reasons indicate that the ACOPF problem needs an alternative formulation and not just a new solution algorithm. Furthermore, it is of immediate importance to many grid stakeholders including transmission system operators, distribution system operators, and electric utilities. Recently in [1], a definitive solution to this once intractable problem is proposed. The heart of the solution rests upon a change of decision variables from the familiar “PQVθ” variables of active power, reactive power, voltage magnitude and voltage phase to the “IV” variables of current and voltage phasors in rectangular coordinates.

The new reformulation transforms the grid’s network flow constraints from non-convex to linear and convex. This transformation, however, is insufficient and leaves non-convexities in the objective function and the bus-voltage magnitude lower bound. To overcome these, this reformulation sheds the traditional “power flow analysis” model and instead adopts the “current-injection” model that power systems engineers use to conduct transient stability studies. This choice of model means that generator terminal voltages and lead lines are explicitly modeled. The necessary introduction of generator terminal voltage upper bounds then provides the key to overcoming the non-convexity introduced by the bus-voltage magnitude lower bounds. Similarly, the introduction of generator lead lines combined with demand-side revenue terms in the objective function serves to transform the once non-convex objective function into a convex fourth-order polynomial. The resulting formulation is a scalable convex optimization program that can be solved to global optimality in polynomial time using a Newton-Raphson algorithm.

A globally optimal solution to the ACOPF can have a profound impact on the trajectory of electricity markets worldwide. In addition to the already significant economic efficiencies in wholesale markets, its application has even greater potential in emerging electricity markets in the distribution system.  Furthermore, because it respects grid reliability constraints, it has the potential to simplify and improve control room operations.  Finally, this work opens the door to significant future work that enables the sustainable energy transition including the integration of renewable energy resources, the development of two-sided markets with elastic demand and coupling to other infrastructure sectors.

[1] Amro M. Farid, A Profit-Maximizing Security-Constrained IV-AC Optimal Power Flow Model & Global Solution”, IEEE Access, vol. 10, pp. 2842-2859, 2021.
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9663377

Dr. Amro M. Farid
Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cambridge, MA, USA

Amro M. Farid (Senior Member, IEEE) received the B.Sc. degree, in 2000, the M.Sc. degree in mechanical engineering from MIT, in 2002, and the Ph.D. degree in engineering from the University of Cambridge, U.K. He is currently a Visiting Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, an Associate Professor in Engineering at the Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, and the CEO of Engineering Systems Analytics LLC.  He leads the Laboratory for Intelligent Integrated Networks of Engineering Systems (LIINES) and has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications in smart power grids, energy-water nexus, electrified transportation systems, industrial energy management, and interdependent smart city infrastructures. He holds leadership positions in the IEEE Smart Cities Technical Community, Control Systems Society (CSS), the Power & Energy Society (PES), and the Systems, Man & Cybernetics Society (SMCS).

“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and effort.” – Paul J. Meyer. Prolificacy is an art, not everyone knows. NED University trains students in exceptional skills like this such that they outshine in their professional lives. Carrying the legacy forward, IEEE PES NEDUET collaborated with National Productivity Organization (NPO) for what is called “The First Productivity Movement of Pakistan”. NPO is the sole government body undertaking Productivity with Quality Initiatives in Pakistan. It has a motive to strengthen the national capacity with the implementation of productivity concepts for sustainable socio-economic development.

In the session held on 24th February 2022, the General manager of NPO, Mr. Aftab Khan explained to students what exactly is productivity and introduced some useful techniques and tools to improve productivity. Productivity, at its most basic level, is the connection between output and input – how many materials and labor hours must be invested in a work process to obtain a specific quantity and quality of output. You must alter one aspect of the connection to boost production.

The 5S concept was explained thoroughly. 5S stands for sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain, was originally implemented by manufacturing enterprises in Japan. The 5S system helps to identify and eliminate wasteful activities from the production process. Ultimately, 5S helps to increase the value of products and services for consumers. Next Kaizen approach was discussed, Kaizen is based on the philosophical belief that everything can be improved. With this approach, incremental changes add up to substantial changes over the longer term, without the need for radical innovation.

Typically, it is based on cooperation and commitment and stands in contrast to approaches that use radical or top-down changes to achieve transformation. In today’s customer-centric market, quality is an integral factor in the growth and sustainability of any business. The seven basic tools of quality, often known as 7QC tools, were introduced by Kaoru Ishikawa. These tools are structured and fundamental instruments that help businesses improve their management and production processes for achieving enhanced product quality. The session aptly emphasized the importance of productivity for an organization to produce success-bearing results. The attendees found the seminar to be quite involving and informative. Certificates for participation were also distributed.

A session on scholarships available for higher education was also organized. Documents required for the Fulbright scholarship in the USA were explained. The session was ended with an astounding figure of NED University Prof. Dr. Saad Ahmed Qazi, Dean of ECE department. He shared his indefatigable efforts for upbringing the aspiring engineers of Pakistan. He is one of the meritorious professors of the esteemed institution with excessive research articles and publications. He shared his ebullient experience of Ph.D. in the UK and emphasized for students to avail such opportunities. In the end, a moment of appreciation was given to both the guests.

Report on National productivity Seminar

Syeda Aiman Asim and Anas Azam

Member Marketing, IEEE PES NEDUET, Karachi, Pakistan

Report on Higher Education:

Ushna Javed, Member Marketing, IEEE PES NEDUET, Karachi, Pakistan

Shaiza Kamran, Member Marketing, IEEE PES NEDUET, Karachi, Pakistan

With the current situation in which the world finds itself, the Student Chapter IEEE PES UFCG carried out analyses on which communication platform the public prefers to participate in the activities. Events via Google Meet become more private due to the need for a join link, for not allowing free recordings, and for the limited number of people on the call. Thus, when comparing the number of participants in Webinars held on Google Meet and the number of views on Youtube, it is noticeable that people opt for open events.

According to the ComScore VideoMetrix survey, around 105 million Brazilians started accessing YouTube monthly, increasing usage time by 91% during the pandemic crisis. Through this, the YouTube channel became a strategic alternative for the dissemination of Student Chapter content through the use of the StreamYard platform. The streaming tool directly transmits to Youtube and brings with it means that facilitate the audience’s interaction with the speaker; it was noted that the participants felt more comfortable making observations, suggestions, and questions through the YouTube chat, without the need to speak “live” with the speaker. In addition, as the activity will be stored on the platform, people who were unable to watch the broadcast can watch it at another time that is convenient for them.

In February, PES UFCG brought two Webinars entitled: “How I used LinkedIn to gain market visibility” and “The EPE and the challenges of broadcasting in the PDE 2031”. Respectively, the first was taught by Gilcianne Fernandes on February 22, 2022, and the second was presented by Lucas Simões de Oliveira on the 24th of the same month.

Webinar: “How I used LinkedIn to gain market visibility”.

Webinar: “A EPE e os desafios da transmissão no PDE 2031”.

After the two Webinars were held, the increase in the number of observations in the videos and in the Chapter channel was notable. Based on the data provided by Youtube itself, the Webinar on the 22nd had a total of 81 views, while the one on the 24th had 109. This initiative to keep the channel active on Youtube shows practicality in disseminating activities, as well as enabling a greater reach of people since in the last 28 days the channel had 204 views and 483 impressions on the platform. Therefore, with a view to future perspectives, Youtube is a path that provides growth and many benefits, so, regardless of the moment of a pandemic, it will still be used by the IEEE PES UFCG Student Chapter.

Data from the IEEE PES UFCG Student Chapter Channel offered by Youtube.

Batista, Renata. Pandemia aumenta em 91% o tempo de usuário brasileiro no Youtube. Tilt UOL, Recife, 2020. Disponível em: <https://www.uol.com.br/tilt/noticias/redacao/2020/11/09/pandemia-aumenta-em-91-tempo-de-usuario-brasileiro-no-youtube.htm>. Acesso em: 5 de março de 2022.

1. Breno Henrique Martins Silva
2. Carolynne Ribeiro Carvalho

IEEE PES UFCG Student Chapter

As the part of IEEE PES STEP 2021 events, IEEE Stamford University Student Branch (SB) along with its WIE Affinity Group successfully hosted a professional development workshop (virtually) titled “Workshop on CV Writing, Motivation and Recommendation Letter Writing” on December 21, 2021 at 7:30 PM (GMT +6). The event was supported by IEEE PES Chapters Student Activities Committee (CSAC) and IEEE PES Student Transition and Elevation Partnership (STEP). Mr. Walid Bin Habib, a Research Assistant at Friedrich-Alexander-University (FAU), Germany and a dedicated IEEE PES volunteer, served as the workshop instructor.

The workshop moderator, K.M. Samiul Islam (IEEE PES CSAC Ambassador – PES STEP), first welcomed the guests, participants, and instructor. The workshop session was then taken over by Mr. Walid Bin Habib, the workshop instructor. Mr. Walid began by discussing the importance and necessity of a CV and then conducted a quick survey of participants’ career plans and higher education plans via the Google Meet chat box. He divided the workshop session into three sections. The first part focused on CV writing, the second on Letter of Motivation/SOP, and the third on Letter of Recommendation. He had elaborately narrated and instructed on these three topics, which are extremely important and beneficial to the career development of an undergraduate/graduate student.

At last, there was a very interactive Q/A session. More than 200 enthusiasts had registered for the workshop session, and more than 115 individual participants had attended. The instructor had assigned a task via email and later the participants who completed the task received feedback and e-certificates of participation.

Essential Link :

https://facebook.com/events/s/workshop-on-cv-writing-motivat/234513292130279/

K.M. Samiul Islam
Chairperson, IEEE Stamford University Bangladesh Student Branch

IEEE Viswajyothi College of Engineering and Technology (VJCET) SB is pleased to announce that the SPARK Special Project on Augmented Reality for Kids has been completed at Elampara L.P School, Punnekadu L.P School, Josephine L.P School, and Vettampara Schools. This project was funded by IEEE R10 and IEEE HAC, and it was organized in collaboration with IEEE PES YP Kerala.

SPARK (Special Project on Augmented Reality for Kids) was a project in which Augmented Reality (AR) was used to visualize educational concepts, which helped students learn better even in online education. IEEE VJCET SB collaborated with Infosory Future Tech Labs Pvt Ltd and was technically supported by IEEE PES YP Kerala to create an app that provided unique digital experiences that blended the best of the digital and physical worlds. Teachers can use AR to recreate 3D models of almost any object, including those that are impossible to bring to class.

IEEE VJCET SB organized a Google meet for teachers in primary schools in Kerala’s tribal areas and communicated for a long time. They inquired about their academic curriculum and gained a better understanding of their subjects. And those topics took the form of 3D models, which were then imported into this augmented reality platform and further developed into apps, which was distributed to teachers.

The project was officially completed on December 20, 2021, thanks to the support and hard work of 15 enthusiastic volunteers led by Ms. Elizabeth Lovin, and was inaugurated on December 19, 2021. Infusory Future Tech Labs Pvt Ltd provided exceptional assistance for the development.