October 2022

I’m humbled and honored to have led HAC’s record breaking global growth along with our dynamic committee. Receiving this award clearly demonstrates that HAC’s record breaking work and many impactful global programs that were launched last year are truly being recognized by global organizations. Personally, leading the HAC to achieve this tremendous global growth and impact during the challenging pandemic time is both satisfying and encouraging. I thank all our IEEE members, HAC staff team, partnering programs and IEEE BoD for believing in our vision and encouraging us to achieve this greater impact through our strategic and innovative programs. You can watch the video of us receiving the award here.

I’m delighted to share the tremendous global impact of the HAC capacity building program that was launched earlier this year. The major goal of HAC capacity building workshops is to strengthen the awareness that IEEE members have about the portfolio of programs offered by HAC and to train members to increase their participation. HAC successfully conducted capacity building a series of workshops in major regional events and programs during the month of October where we had tremendous impact. We were excited to host a workshop during the Region 8 meeting that was held in Cairo, Egypt where we trained over 44 section leaders from 44 countries who attended the meeting. The training was well appreciated and well received by the R8 leadership and the participants. Many section leaders in R8 are looking forward to continuing to partake in HAC programs. We also organized a major capacity building workshop to benefit the student branches in and around Cairo and this program was well attended by over 50 participants from over 15 different Student Branches in Egypt.

HAC also offered a capacity building workshop as part of a keynote talk for IEEE Costa Rica Section during IEEE Day celebrations which was attended by many young professionals and student leaders across Costa Rica. We offered a virtual workshop in Sri Lanka which was attended by over 50 participants across Sri Lanka. During these programs, we shared the full portfolio of offerings from HAC and emphasized the benefits of participating in SIGHT programs. The HAC capacity building program, which was launched at the beginning of the year, continues to be a fundamental avenue for the continued growth of sustainable solutions at the grassroots level. This program encourages individuals to positively contribute to social innovations in their local communities.

We continue to strengthen our partnerships with major programs across IEEE. We had the opportunity to partner with the Educational Activity Board (EAB) and IEEE Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) where we offered a capacity building workshop at the recently concluded HKN Student Leadership Conference (SLC) from 28 - 30 October in Charlotte, NC. There were more than 50 IEEE HKN Chapter leaders that attended our session along with EPICS in IEEE where we trained members on  designing and implementing impactful HAC projects and on the benefit of collaborating in HAC/SIGHT programs.

I am thrilled to announce the second annual IEEE HAC Global Summit which will be held on 7 December, 2022. As you all know, the HAC Global Summit is one of the strategic programs that was launched last year under my leadership. This year, we are aiming  to bring together world leaders in the sustainable development space to showcase the breadth and width of innovations that are happening in communities all over the world. Our team is currently putting forth an exciting plan that includes keynote speeches from key global and industry leaders and panels involving various programs and showcasing the best practices for project teams and project implementation. Please continue to watch out for updates and a registration link on the website and in forthcoming communications.  

Stay safe and healthy,

Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan 

2021 - 2022 IEEE HAC Chair

First was the IEEE Australian and New Zealand Young Professionals conference (ANZSCON), hosted by the South Australia Section on 1-2 October 2022. The event brought together young engineering students and young professionals to meet and engage to familiarize with trends in science and technology, discuss present and future engineering challenges, develop new skills and share technical, social and professional experiences.

I was particularly impressed by the event organizing team for conducting the pitch session where young engineers and IEEE Volunteers were brought together and pitched great ideas which were focused on creating sustainable solutions to challenges within their communities. I was delighted to speak to the participants about IEEE HAC/SIGHT and how they could effectively participate in the various activities of SIGHT. This session was quite lively, participatory and very interesting to all the participants and we look forward to further engaging with the South Austrian SIGHT members regarding how best we could enrich their humanitarian efforts and solutions for community and humanitarian benefits.

I was also privileged to participate in the IEEE R8 Q4 Round Table discussions on SIGHT activities and effectiveness in sections held on 5th October 2022. During the event, I was able to share with the participants on how best members could put together projects that are sustainable and compliant with development requirements. I also took the opportunity to share with members about the opportunities available at HAC/SIGHT and how best they could make use of them optimally. 

Last but equally important, I participate in the IEEE EMBS Middle - East/Africa ISC 2O22 that took place in Kampala, Uganda from 4-5 October 2022. During this event participants were highly impressed by the professional papers that were presented together with innovative medical exhibitions that were displayed by biomedical engineering. During this event, I was also invited to talk about HAC/SIGHT and how the IEEE biomedical engineering students/volunteers could enrich the activities HAC/SIGHT. Noted from the events, there are good opportunities for the various IEEE members to translate their passion into humanitarian technologies to solve the current global challenges.

Last but equally important, was my recent participation in the IEEE R8 meeting which took place in Cairo, Egypt from 14 – 16 October 2022. During this event, the HAC Chair (Mr. Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan) made a keynote presentation whereby he emphasized the importance of humanitarian aspects in promoting strong and solid collaborations involving HAC/SIGHT and the entire IEEE fraternity. On the 17 October, HAC/SIGHT organized a capacity building workshop for the IEEE Egypt Section Volunteers. This event was quite rewarding because participants were broadly guided on how best they could participate and benefit from the HAC/SIGHT opportunities while also providing solutions in response to challenges that their communities face. 

Wishing you the best of luck in all your endeavors.

Yours sincerely, 

Lwanga Herbert

2021 - 2022 IEEE SIGHT Chair

HAC Global Summit Update

This year’s Global Summit will occur on 7 December 2022. The HAC Global Summit serves as a platform to bring together IEEE members, leaders from a variety of IEEE entities, and representatives from external partners in the sustainable development space to exhibit the breadth and width of HAC engagement, showcase grassroots HAC/SIGHT projects, and contribute to the global discussion on the application of humanitarian technology to address local challenges. Entities interested in presenting may write to [email protected]. Please stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.

HAC/SIGHT PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

Smart Kibanda Project

Team: IEEE Members from IEEE Moi University Student Branch - Kenya

Project Description: A Kibanda is an open - frontend hut or cubicle used for informal business. The project aimed to solve the major problems in non-traditional retail outlets in an affordable, secure, convenient, employing great aesthetics, and provision of renewable energy and storage units.  The team adopted perforated shelves to allow enough ventilation and air circulation for commodities in the shelves, white/orange interior to maintain low temperatures in the interior of the units, wide front doors to allow for more air to flow into and out of the unit and 3FA Door Security. The Kibandas also contained solar-powered lighting, storage units, and security systems.                 

Impact: The team produced 4 smart-kibandas that directly impacted 268 individuals to help increase livelihood of small sellers and non profit organizations serving disadvantaged groups.   

SIGHT GROUP CORNER

Welcome to the newest SIGHT Groups! 

• Atria institute of Technology SB SIGHT
  
  
• IEEE Student Branch Government Engineering College - Barton Hill SIGHT Group
  
  
• Universidad de Sonsonate SB SIGHT

GET INVOLVED WITH IEEE HAC/SIGHT

Important Dates & Upcoming Virtual Events

• 7 December 2022 - Global Summit

Visit the HAC/SIGHT calendar for more humanitarian technology events and activities (all virtual for now).

Support IEEE SIGHT

Your donation of any amount to the IEEE SIGHT fund of the IEEE Foundation will help form the IEEE sustainable development leaders of the future and incubate projects that support IEEE’s mission of advancing technology for the benefit of humanity in communities around the globe.

HAC/SIGHT Education Resources

See the free HAC/SIGHT resources on the IEEE Learning Network (ILN) and SIGHT website to equip participants with a basic understanding of humanitarian technology and sustainable development topics.

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