The recently concluded Asia Pacific Region 10 Congress for students, young professionals, women in engineering and life members (SYWL) at the resort island of Bali in Indonesia saw heavy participation from IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES). As a silver sponsor for the Congress, PES effectively contributed to its content, the theme for which was “collaborative innovation for sustainable development.” As the oldest society of IEEE providing the world’s largest forum for sharing the latest in technological developments in the electric power industry, the focus of PES in the R10 SYWL 2018 Congress was on the scientific and engineering knowledge about electric power and energy.

As the PES Young Professionals representative in Asia Pacific, Hassaan Idrees spoke during the second day plenary session on the Grand Challenges of Engineering in the 21st century, and how IEEE is playing a part in tackling these challenges.This session took inspiration from the challenges, identified by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and an international group of leading technological thinkers, being faced by humanity in the 21st century, where engineering has a role to play. The session started off with the advancements engineers made in the 20th century, revealed how important solving these game-changing challenges was,and pointed out how IEEE is contributing in making sure these issues are effectively tackled. In its quest to improve the planet, IEEE & PES are doing their bit to securing the cyberspace, to making solar energy economical, to reverse engineering the brain,and much more, all the while improving life on the planet.

During the session on expanding PES Membership and Recruitment, the focus was on students, young professionals and women in the field of power and energy, presented by John Benedict Boggala, Hassaan Idrees and Celia Shahnaz, respectively. This was a highly well received session, as the three speakers spoke about the work being done by the Society for students, young engineers and women for providing more opportunities for research in energy and power systems, the conferences and journals of PES, grants and sponsorship opportunities offered by PES, the standards developed by the Society that guide the development and construction of equipment and systems, and the waves being made for educating members of the industry and the general public. John Day, Director for IEEE Member Products & Programs, was a guest during this session. It was mentioned how the members of PES are leaders in their fields, and how they derive substantial benefits from involvement with this unique and outstanding association.

The Congress also offered PES with a constant physical presence, as a booth was provided to PES to spread their message to attendees and guests throughout the three-day event, where a number of interested people asked about PES, funding and membership activities. This Region-wide Congress provided PES with the perfect opportunity to make an impact to the leaders of tomorrow, both in Asia and in the wider world.

Hassaan Idrees
IEEE PES Region 10 Young Professionals Representative

Hassaan Idrees speaking on the Grand Challenges of Engineering and the role of IEEE & PES.
(From L-R) Nia Kurnianingsih, Hussain Mahdi, Parkash Lohana and Hassaan Idrees at the IEEE PES booth.
John Benedict Boggala speaking about the opportunities PES student members can benefit from.
Dr. Celia Shahnaz, PES WiP R10 Representative, speaking about the WiP initiatives, accomplishments and recognition to encourage more women to join WiP.
Hassaan Idrees speaking about the global PES initiatives, and the value which PES membership provides.