In the spirit of fostering collaboration between university students and giving them exposure to the industry, LAU hosted this year’s Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) training workshop for board members of the student branches at the Byblos campus on September 9.

IEEE is the world’s leading technical professional association dedicated to fostering technological innovation for the betterment of humanity. Through engagement and knowledge dissemination, the IEEE Student Branches serve as conduits, transferring industry expertise, professionalism and global trending practices to engineering students across Lebanese universities.

With the unwavering support of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the LAU School of Engineering, the LAU IEEE Student Branch board members joined their counterparts from 12 universities in Lebanon for the full-day workshop.

The event presented an outstanding networking opportunity for aspiring engineering students to become actively engaged in the dynamic field, both locally and internationally, and acquire the necessary proficiencies to meet future challenges and better serve their communities.

“This year, the student branch was restructured with the aim of involving more students in its activities,” said ECE Chairperson Chadi Abou Rjeily. “It is a strategic priority for us to boost the membership of the club levering the number and caliber of events to better serve our students and promote our department.”

Chair of the IEEE Lebanon Section Hadi Kanaan, who delivered the training on IEEE best practices, emphasized the importance of the workshop in exposing students to “the latest trends and hottest areas in the field.”

“The institute’s operating unit and the board members are here to help the students expand their activities and network,” said Dr. Kanaan.

The trainers led by Harout Topjian, IEEE Lebanon student representative, familiarized the attendees with the functions of the student branches and discussed the latest initiatives of its Lebanon section, in addition to covering discipline-focused training sessions that included IEEE formatting guidelines, acquiring IEEE funding and organizing IEEE events.

“IEEE student branches,” he said, “are the heart of the IEEE community in Lebanon.” 

Furthermore, participants were offered comprehensive training sessions on two critical skill sets: time management and leadership. 

LAU’s commitment to collaboration, teamwork, and dedication to professional development opportunities was evident through the active participation and organizational efforts of its IEEE student branch members.

Wajih El Tayyar, the president of the LAU IEEE Student Branch, expressed his pride and enthusiasm in hosting the training day at the Byblos campus. “This is a great start to the year and we’re looking forward to the upcoming events to be organized by our IEEE student branch, as well as various IEEE cross-universities collaborations,” he said.

“Saturday’s event was an inspiring and energizing experience!” remarked Chloé Boueiri, president of the IEEE Logistics Automation Club at LAU. “The IEEE Logistics Automation team is eagerly looking forward to making memorable moments throughout the upcoming academic year, as well as numerous activities and workshops,” she added.