IEEE, an association dedicated to advancing innovation and technological excellence for the benefit of humanity, is the world’s largest technical professional society. It is designed to serve professionals involved in all aspects of the electrical, electronic and computing fields and related areas of science and technology that underlie modern civilization. IEEE’s roots, however, go back to 1884 when electricity was just beginning to become a major force in society. There was one major established electrical industry, the telegraph, which—beginning in the 1840s—had come to connect the world with a communications system faster than the speed of transportation. A second major area had only barely gotten underway—electric power and light, originating in Thomas Edison’s inventions and his pioneering Pearl Street Station in New York.
More than 100 years later, the IEEE AUB Student branch was founded in 1997. We are the first student branch to be opened in Lebanon, and have been the biggest branch ever since. Not long ago we celebrated our 20 year anniversary and took this opportunity to look back at our history. We found 20 years of hard work towards the same mission, but with new ideas, change, ambition for IEEE AUB, and growth. IEEE AUB started off as a small community just like any other branch, but grew to become now a huge network of members and alumni that never stop being IEEEers. This network is one of the main benefits IEEE has to offer: it opens doors for opportunities, mentor-ship, and friendship.