The IEEE Women in Engineering (WiE) International Leadership Summit – 2019, Bengaluru organized by IEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Group of IEEE Bangalore Section, had a vibrant start at 9 AM on 30th August at Hotel Sterling’s Mac, Bengaluru.
The Inaugural function started with an Invocation by Snigdha from BMS College of Engineering followed by welcome address by Keshav Bapat, Chair-IEEE Bangalore Section. The Summit was inaugurated by lighting the lamp by all the dignitaries. Puneet Mishra, Chair Elect, IEEE Bangalore Section provided a glimpse of 43 year old history of IEEE Bangalore Section, its activities and volunteering opportunities. Deepa Shenoy, Co-Chair, ILS19 highlighted on the growth and activities of Women in Engineering Affinity group of IEEE Bangalore Section during its eleven years of journey.
Harish Mysore, Senior Director of IEEE, India operations gave a brief overview of WiE’s global initiatives. He expressed pride in the leadership that the subcontinent is taking in these activities. Divya M G, WiE Chair and the Program Chair, ILS2019 gave the key highlights of the summit.
The inaugural address was given by Nigar Shaji, Project Director, Aditya-L1 Mission of ISRO. Shaji recalled the vision of the founding Father of Indian Space Establishment, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, to put India on the global space map and use space missions for social and national development. Today, India has demonstrated its technological capabilities and transformed the space program from what was once considered as a luxury to a necessity. Space research and science missions are now the next frontier for human species and ISRO is engaged in several missions like Chandrayaan, Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), Aditya L1, Xposat and many others to explore the universe.
D N. Sujatha, Chair, ILS19 proposed Vote of Thanks by thanking everyone for their contribution in making ILS19 a huge success. The inaugural was concluded by a group photo of the over 350 delegates and dignitaries from around the world including USA, Japan, Thailand and Srilanka. Around over 250 participants were IEEE members and 125 non IEEE members.
The theme of the Summit is “Redefining the Defined”. It included 9 keynote addresses, 10 invited talks in the following tracks: Entrepreneurship, Humanitarian, Innovation, Leadership and Women in Technology. A panel discussion on “Capability Vs Copability: Striking the Right Balance”, and a workshop on “Reskilling for Digital Economy” was a part of the summit. The evening of 30th August had an entertaining cultural night followed by dinner. In-order to keep the entire team fit, a practical session on basic yoga was arranged on 31st August, 2019.
The valedictory function was held on 31st August 2019, The Chief Guest was Pamela Kumar, Director General, TSDSI and Guest of Honor was Kathy Susan Land, Program Manager, US Department of Defense. Keshav Bapat, Chair, IEEE Bangalore section proposed Vote of Thanks.
The sponsors included Gold Sponsors: JP Morgan Chase, Google, Cisco, HPE, Silver Sponsors: Reliance Jio, Bronze Sponsors: Dayananda Sagar University, BMS College of Engineering and Boeing, Professional body sponsors: IEEE Bangalore Section, IEEE YP, Bangalore Section, IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee, Antenna and Propagation Society and Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, IEEE India Council and IEEE Delhi Section and Academic Sponsors: Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Reva University and RV College of Engineering. The summit provided opportunities to foster diversity in the workplace, networking, mentorship, and collaboration. The uniqueness being that, they provide a platform for women to share success and learn from failures and challenges, celebrate Entrepreneur sprit and Leadership of women in the fields of Science and Engineering. Included in these two days was also a very helpful networking session, cultural night and feedback session.
Dr. D N Sujatha, Chair, WIE ILS Bangalore 2019
