What is IEEE?
IEEE has three main identities Regional, Technical and Affinity Groups. Regional is the geographical division of IEEE which includes Regions (Lebanon Belongs to Region 8) and national sections. So all members residing in Lebanon are part of IEEE Lebanon Section by default. Most of your local/national activities are through the section or under the umbrella of the section.
The technical part are the Societies (special interest groups) and these start at the international level. So if you are part of a society, say Robotics and Automation Society, or Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, you belong to this IEEE Society at an international level. In addition, if this society has a local Chapter (in a university or in Lebanon) you are by default also part of the local Chapter and can be active in the local chapter. So, if you are an IEEE member residing in Lebanon and Member of a society X, you are part of IEEE, Region 8, Lebanon Section and Society X, and Lebanon Chapter of Society X.
In addition, IEEE recognized the importance of recent graduates and women in Engineering. So they created affinity groups, Young Professionals and Women in Engineering, to cater to these groups’ professional needs. To know about YP and WIE, check the member resources page.
In short, being an IEEE member makes you part of several entities and provides you with many opportunities to be active and volunteer. Just email us!
What happens to my IEEE Student membership after I graduate?
After graduating, you become a graduate student member for a while, then a regular member. Later on, you can be given higher grades, such as senior member, and fellow member, but these are earned in time and based on how many years you spend with IEEE.
How can I join the section as an active member, volunteer, or committee member?
First you only need to be an IEEE member, and you will have a voice in the IEEE Lebanon Section committee. To be an active member, it’s only a matter of your willingness to volunteer in section events, attend, or even run for a section committee position. Section elections happen once every two years, you need to be eligible for the position you’re nominating yourself for, and be voted for it.
How can I join region 8 as an active member, volunteer, or committee member?
There is no specific way to join Region 8 (R8). You can join the MGA SAC (Member and Geographic Activities-Students Activities Committee) by responding to a call for volunteers, usually sent out at the end of each year. If you are eligible, you can nominate yourself, and others can nominate you as well.
Another way of joining R8 is by being an active volunteer and creating positive impact in your section. This could be in the form of organizing a successful congress, summit, or conference, contributing to your section’s affinity group, establishing an affinity group in your section, like WIE, or a special interest group. In short, to join R8, you have first to give positive contributions to your section, and to the region, and become the precursor of more activity.