In August, IEEE Region 8 Students and Young Professionals Congress took place in Krakow, Poland, bringing together over 300 volunteers from student branches and Young Professionals Affinity Groups for four days of presentations, workshops and fun activities.R8 SYP Congress Workshop

As part of this event, the Region 8 Young Professionals subcommittee organized two different workshops. The first workshop was entitled “IEEE Student Afterlife – Young Professionals: recognize your leadership gene,” where participants had a chance to share what they seek to gain from IEEE, learn about the benefits of the various Young Professionals programs, and discuss what makes a good leader. For the first activity, each participant was asked to write three things they expect or need from the IEEE in the course of their volunteering. In the next 20 minutes, participants shared over 60 unique ideas on what benefits motivate volunteers and how to improve benefits in the near future. The main part of the workshop was an open discussion about what skills and traits a successful leader should have and how young professionals can develop them.

R8 SYP Workshop Team PresentingThe second workshop was more group-work oriented, and was called “IEEEApp – Concept development.” As the name suggests, participants were divided into groups and had the better part of one hour to develop an idea for an IEEE mobile application before presenting their concept to the other groups. From event calendars and speakers database to networking and games, participants delivered truly impressive ideas. At the end of the workshop participants voted to select two winning groups, who received Young Professionals materials.

Overall, the visibility of Young Professionals in the SYP Congress has increased in comparison to previous years, and the workshops sparked many interesting ideas upon which all our volunteers can act with fresh motivation. The R8 YP Subcommittee trusts that all the participants in this year’s SYP Congress had an amazing time, and we look forward to playing an even greater role in the next Congress.

Article contributed by Flavia Dinca, Region 8 Young Professionals Subcommittee member