IEEE GINI India F2F - 2012 - A Report

IEEE Madras Section Global Integrated Network of IEEE (GINI MAS) organized the All India GINI Face To Face (F2F) Meet’12 at Sathyabama University, Chennai on the 4^th and 5^th (Saturday and Sunday) of Feb 2012. The inaugural function commenced with the Tamizh Thai Vazhuthu. The IEEE Student Branch Vice-Chair, Ms. Swetha Kumari delivered the welcome address. Er.T.S. Rangarajan, Chairman, IEEE Madras Section, Er.Prasanna Venkatesan, R10 GINI Coordinator and Er.Jaison Abey Sabu, Chairman, GINI-India, were the dignitaries on the dais. The lighting of the lamp by the guests marked the inaugural ceremony. The GINI Madras Organizing team had charted a productive agenda for two days in a manner that would enable discussion and trigger ideas through brainstorming.

Mr. Shrawan, Student Branch Treasurer, briefed on the Global Integrated Network of IEEE. The main objective of GINI is to enhance and encourage communication between student branches initially at section level, then spreading it at India Council Level and finally at Region 10 Level. Er.Rangarajan, Chairman, IEEE Madras Section was felicitated by Dr.Suryakala, Branch Counselor, IEEE SB, Sathyabama University. Er.Rangarajan addressed the gathering and shared the silver jubilee experience of IEEE Madras Section. Er.Prasanna Venkatesan explained the phases of growth of IEEE. Er.Jaison explained the needs of GINI. Victor Dhar, the Treasurer of Sathyabama University Student Branch shared the achievements of the IEEE Student Branch of the Sathyabama University.  

The inaugural meeting concluded with the vote of thanks by Rahul Sahay, Chairman, Sathyabama University Student Branch

The GINI F2F was planned with an idea to bring together the GINI Volunteers from across India who had been working actively in their respective sections and make them interact with each other for the betterment of Student Activities in India. Active Student GINI Volunteers from across the country were invited and he had more than 50 delegates from Delhi, Madras, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kerala Sections. We also had few invited GOLD Members participating from each section to mentor the GINI Volunteers. The Host Section had few more active Student Branch Volunteers participating in the event.

GINI India aimed to establish strong hold on three different sub-areas viz., Student Branch Networking (SBN), Industrial Relations (IR) and Collaboration Platform (CP)

Day 1 of the F2F started right after the Inaugural session.

Er. Prasanna Venkatesan gave a very informative talk on how IEEE plays a major role in the growth of technology. He threw light on the various level of IEEE as an organization. He also emphasized the importance of IEEE digital library. The volunteers were really glued to their seats as they felt the global expanse of the organization in which they are part of.

Soon after this, people from different IEEE sections came up with their presentations on their previous year activities. Mr. Akshay from Kerala Section, Mr. Vibhor from Delhi section, Mr. Imran from Hyderabad Section, Mr. Nipun Manral from Bangalore section and Mr. Anand /Mr. Harikrishnan from Madras Section explained the functioning of their respective sessions through their presentations. It was really great to see much of Student Activities happening in different domains across the country.

The GINI India Executive Committee had another break-out session to discuss the plans for the year 2012.

Students were then split into groups and they were allowed to interact between each other to discuss on improving the quantity and quality of Student Branch activities.

Post Lunch, We had a session on the roles and responsibilities of Student Branch officers by Er.Jaison. A veteran in Student Branch administration, he gave tips on organizing quality events and how to overcome the blocking stones hindering effective administration.

The delegates spent the rest of the evening discussing various issues faced in Student Branches and how best to tackle them professionally.

Day 2 started right away with the brainstorming within the groups moderated by Er. Arjun and mentored by the GOLD Volunteers. Major V.V.Chandrasekaran, Student Activities Chairman of Madras Section and Er.H.R.Mohan were also the part of the session. Different case studies on Membership Growth, Membership Sustenance/Retention and Issues faced in Student Branches were assigned to groups and it was great to see the volunteers from all participating sections, come out with great ideas. The SAC and the VC of the Section also added to the ideas and commented on the inferences of the brainstorming.

Kerala section proposed an action plan termed as Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) to attain sustainability. Er.Jaison concluded the session by highlighting the good ideas presented by the volunteers.

The floor was then open for questions and discussion on issues of membership, sustainability, industry relations and funding 

Post lunch, Er.Jaison then presented the GINI India Strategy Plan 2012 in which he shared the various activities planned through GINI India on Industry relations, Collaborative Platform and Student Branch Networking

The delegates were honored with a certificate of participation by the SAC and Vice Chairman of Madras Section.

The two effective and productive days of discussion, brainstorming, planning and action came to an end with a Networking Tea.

The F2F, for sure was a grand success and it brought together brothers from different sections and created a professional bonding among them and the objective achieved.

On behalf of Sathyabama University Student Branch, I would like to thank all the guests for their valuable talks, and the motivation they bestowed upon the delegates with their presence and interaction.

Compiled by: Praveen Vinny, Secretary, Sathyabama Student Branch

Reviewed and Reported by: Apoorva P Naidu, Reporting Secretary GINI MAS