IEEE, the organization of which I am a part of from the inception of my engineering life. So many memories, so many countless hours I have devoted to this entity and this has given birth to many opportunities for me.

It all started when I was a freshman at my university. Some awesome seniors guided my path towards IEEE. From then, I started my journey as a volunteer at IEEE NSU Student Branch. I perceived this is the community where I can develop myself as well as contribute for a better change in my community. I, with the help of Tanjila Ma’am and other advisors, founded the WIE Affinity Group of IEEE NSU Student Branch with the vision to incentivize and engage more female engineers and break the social barriers that halt the growth & potential of women. This was also the first ever women community at NSU as well.

I didn’t stop at WIE but now serving as the chair of IEEE NSU Student Branch. Besides that, I closely worked with the Bangladesh section as well as various initiatives of IEEE to foster the common goal of IEEE which is to advance technology for the benefit of humanity. As a chair, my focus was on how the volunteers in the unit can be nurtured, how their potential can be developed and how can I provide them with equal opportunities to leap forward.

Carrying out my duties in different volunteering roles, I didn’t realize when I became a part of a massive community not only in my institution but also around the globe. I have made friends overseas which I couldn’t even imagine without IEEE.

I had the opportunity to be a part of two regional R10 congresses representing Bangladesh Section. These were the best experience I had at IEEE. In fact, the congress is a platform where exceptional volunteers from all different geographic locations meet, share and enlighten each other about how their volunteering can be made more effective to bring out more good for the community. I tried to train myself through these international platforms and emphasized how I can share my learnings with my local community.

Though IEEE teaches professionalism and personal skills, but it is no less than a family to me now. I receive phone calls nearly three times from my fellow IEEE friends than my Mom in a day. To be honest, these people are blessings. Some of my family members and non-IEEE Friends always keep asking me- Why do I spend so much of my time in IEEE Works than anything else? What do I get in return for the amount of work I do? The answer is, I don’t work for IEEE to get something but the returns I got from IEEE are priceless. To conclude, my relation with IEEE is not professional anymore but also emotional.

Written by-

Kimia Tuz Zaman
Ex-Chair, IEEE NSU Student Branch
North South University