About

IEEE

IEEE is the world’s largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. IEEE and its members inspire a global community through IEEE’s highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities.

IEEE, pronounced “Eye-triple-E,” stands for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The association is chartered under this name and it is the full legal name. To learn more about the association’s name, for more information please read the History of IEEE.

IEEE Vancouver Section

The Vancouver Section of the IEEE promotes the exchange of technical information and awareness of the local engineering community by:

Hosting technical presentations and seminars on topics of current interest	Organizing tours of local companies, research labs, and industrial sites	Arranging for local support and participation in engineering conferences and symposia held in Vancouver
Recognizing local members by nominating them for advancement in IEEE membership grade and/or IEEE technical and service awards	Arranging for industry support of projects organized by IEEE student branches and chapters	Organizing events or activities concerning either technology or public policy for the general public

The Vancouver Section was originally established as a Section of the AIEE on August 22, 1911. For more information about the section and its history please visit the IEEE Global History Network Site. The Vancouver Section serves the geographical area of the province of BC, except for Vancouver Island (which is served by the Victoria Section). In 2009, the Section Executive Committee voted to create two sub-sections:

Northern British Columbia Subsection – serving members in Prince George and Northern BC
Okanagan Subsection – serving members in the Okanagan

The subsections were formed in order to better provide IEEE members in these areas with local meetings and other services. For more information on the subsections, please contact the current sub-section chairs, listed under the “Executive Committee” tab on this website.

The Section currently has about 2200 active members, including 325 students at BCIT, SFU, and UBC. It is the second oldest section, and among the largest sections in Canada.

The Vancouver Section provides support to eight local IEEE student branches. The Vancouver Section provides some financial assistance to Student Branches each year, and also offers scholarship awards for IEEE student members. The IEEE Student branches are active in holding events locally, and cooperate in order to provide value to IEEE student membership:

University of British Columbia Student Branch (UBC, 1930 oldest in Canada)
British Columbia Institute of Technology Student Branch (BCIT, 1965)
Simon Fraser University Student Branch (SFU, 1983)
University of British Columbia – Okanagan Student Branch (UBC-O 2009)
University of Northern British Columbia Student Branch (UNBC 2011)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University Student Branch (KPU 2015)
Okanagan College Student Branch (OKC 2022)
New York Institute of Technology Student Branch (NYIT 2023)

The IEEE Vancouver Section was named the “Outstanding Large Section” in the IEEE in 2009 by the IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Board. The Vancouver Section was chosen “For successful efforts in fulfilling the educational and scientific goals of IEEE for the benefit of the public by maintaining, enhancing, and supporting the Student Branches, Technical Chapters, and Affinity Groups within its geographic boundaries.”

The Section operates on a fiscal year that runs from Jan – Dec of each year. The election of new officers is held each year in the fall, and election results are announced in December. The Section Annual General meeting is held in the spring to report on Section operations to all Section members. Technical meetings and social events for members are held year-round.

The Section’s 15 technical chapters represent 34 of the IEEE’s technical societies. In some cases, chapters representing several technical societies are combined to form a “joint chapter”. Each chapter usually holds 5-6 technical meetings or tours each year. Some chapters organize a few half or full day seminars, and a distinguished lecture or two.

Similar to technical chapters, the Vancouver Section has four sub-units called affinity groups. Like technical chapters, these affinity groups are self organized at the local level and each is part of an IEEE-wide affinity group.

The Section also has active committees and volunteer positions responsible for:

Advertising
Awards
Communications
Conference Activity
Continuing Education
History
Membership Development
Professional Activities
Publicity
Web Development, social media, multimedia
Archivist
Student Activities Coordination
Industry Liaison
Teacher In Service Program (TISP) Coordinator

IEEE Continuing education courses are offered online at http://www.ieee.org/web/education/home/index.html

Local courses are also offered at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UBC, the School of Engineering Science at SFU, and at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

The Vancouver Section communicates with its members and interested members of the technical community using several channels:

Vancouver Section website – News
Vancouver Section email newsletter
Vancouver Section Facebook page
Vancouver Section Twitter feed
Vancouver Section LinkedIn group

The Vancouver Section communicates more formally (via email) with its members on certain occasions, such as notices of Section AGM and notices of Section election events. NOTICE the IEEE Vancouver Section adheres to IEEE policies, privacy regulations, and spam regulations. No unsolicited email messages are sent, and any member can permit or restrict email messages via their individual “Communications Preferences” settings within their personal IEEE accounts.

The Section publishes an electronic newsletter, each month. The e-newsletter is available via email to members and interested non members who voluntarily subscribe to the NEWS-VANCOUVER email list. For more information on subscribing to the Section e-newsletter please visit the Newsletter page on this site.

The Vancouver Section prepares an Annual Report in conjunction with its AGM. The Section Treasurer’s Report, which is independently audited, is also tabled at the AGM. Other materials such as budgets and minutes of executive meetings may be made available to members upon request.