From the 6th to the 10th of August three members of the IEEE student branch Klagenfurt participated at the IEEE Region 8 Student and Young Professional Congress. The congress was hosted by the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow which is the largest technical university in Poland educating more than 35 thousand students. This bi-annual event brings together not only representatives of student branches but also young IEEE members that have recently graduated. This year there where around 400 participants from all over region 8 which is the biggest region of IEEE including Europe, Middle East and Africa. Therefore there was a variety of cultures present at the congress offering a very international experience.
The main mission of the congress was to offer a platform for exchanging knowledge and experiences between the young IEEE members. Therefore this congress was especially useful to exchange expertise about the best practices in running an IEEE student branch. During the five days of the congress there where many plenary sessions as well as a variety of workshops. The plenary sessions offered a diverse mix of academic and industrial speeches. They concentrated on the trends in research and technology as well as on the future of IEEE region 8. The workshops covered technological issues, career related issues, as well as problems typically faced in IEEE student branches. Some workshops where held by representatives of Nokia and Motorola giving insights about the latest technological developments. They were complemented by excursions to the respective companies allowing to get a more hands-on experience on the communication technology. Other workshops discussed issues related to organizing student branches and activities. Many workshops focused on career building and thus dealt with topics like idea development, entrepreneurship, and soft skill development.
Finally, also the leisure time had its place. The evening events and likewise the coffee and lunch breaks offered a unique platform for networking with the other participants.