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Roger Pollard sadly passed away on Saturday 3rd December 2011 after a short illness |
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Closing speech given during debate at Sections Congress 2011 - 22 August 2011
IEEE needs to re-orient itself with a focus on member engagement, networking and mutual support. We must reinforce the core principles of an association of technical professionals and base our activities on building networks, sharing knowledge and experience and fostering collective identification with the values of the profession and agreement about appropriate professional standards.
We should not be copying the commercial providers of information and training, but revert to our roots as a bottom-up peer based model with its members as the knowledge resource rather than as information consumers.
IEEE must get more involved in education at all levels to secure the next generation of technologists as well as supporting the career development of those already in the profession. We need to work to broaden the curriculum - to recognize that we need technologists to work on many topics outside of engineering science; to help our graduates become problem solvers with a perspective on what is needed by society, not merely discipline specialists; and to put more emphasis on policy, environment, teamwork, ethics and communication.
Today, IEEE has to operate in an environment in which professionalism, and the technical and scientific disciplines that underpin it, are increasingly internationalised. Thus, we are less relevant unless we are truly global. IEEE must be properly transnational - we must finally stop talking about it and do it. Our international strategy should be developing strong regional bases instead of just trying to apply worldwide what works in the Americas. It's important that all IEEE members must be able to access the full range of benefits wherever they live and work. IEEE must increase its network of offices outside the US and accept payment for all its products and services in local currency. Although the international language of scientific and technical communication is English, we must work to increase the amount of technical material published in other languages with a view to communicating the contributions of IEEE professionals to a wider audience worldwide and particularly attracting more young people into careers in technology. Technology and technologists know no boundaries, particularly those of geography.
Some of our members want improved services, some want to contribute to the development of the profession - something they eventually directly benefit from. However, many members remain unengaged; they joined IEEE for a variety of reasons, sometimes simply to get a discount at a conference. Simply recruiting more unengaged members is an error; we need to focus in engaging the members we have. This will improve member retention and, in the long term, result in increased membership and a more vibrant IEEE.
I remain committed to IEEE and am concerned for its future. If we are to develop as a global association and learned society for technical professionals, it will not be by creating even more glossy websites but by remembering our core values and focussing on member engagement. Our goal must be that IEEE and its members should be key to improving the quality of life on our planet as a whole.
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