IEEE Region 8 Student and Young Professionals Congress Krakow 2014
The IEEE Student Branch Graz, represented by Michael Tieber, took part in the biannual IEEE Region 8 Student Branch and Young Professionals Congress (R8SYPC) 2014 from 6th until 10th of August at the University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland. Approximately 300 IEEE volunteers from 51 countries attended the congress, including the IEEE President J. Roberto de Marca, the R8 Director Martin Bastiaans, R8 Director-Elect Costas Stasopoulos and the IEEE R8 Past-Director Marko Delimar. Furthermore, the Region 8 Treasurer Brian Harrington as well as Region 8 Secretary and the Region 8 SAC (Students Activities Committee) team were there.
The SYPC 2014 hosted many interesting lectures, talks, and workshops. To kick things off an insider report about IEEE was presented, followed by Region 8 Student and young professionals activities. Also, professional and educational activities were brought to the audience‘s attention by the volunteers during their sessions. The second and third day gave attendees the opportunity to participate in several different workshops like „Time Management“, „Networking”, „Leadership Skills“ and many others.
Beside the official part, there was enough time for getting to know people, networking, sightseeing and having fun. For example, there was a decent side program that included town visits of Krakow and a daytrip to scientific centers, a sightseeing tour through the WIeliczka salt mine and also a gala dinner, 130m under the ground level. A barbecue in a castle which created an outstanding atmosphere.
The highlight of the SYPC social program was the multicultural evening on Saturday, where each section presented their country with traditional clothing and specialties. It was a nice mixture of exploring foreign culture, sharing experiences and partying.