The Jamaica Section

The Jamaica Section is an association of local engineers and technologists (IEEE members) who network with colleagues, develop activities for professional development, and share expertise through technical presentations. All IEEE members in Jamaica and the public are invited to attend and participate in Section meetings which are usually held the third Wednesday of each month, a tradition for 31 years.

There are over two hundred Section members. The original members of the Steering Committee were: Wilfred Roberts, S.A Mullings and Ruel Sammuels. Members who served as Section Chair were: Al Hall, Herbert Sharpe, Hugh Cross, Hopeton Heron, Andrew Jackson, Dennis Hartley, Basil Davidson, Andrea Small, Bryan Aikman, Stephen Legister, Halden Morris, Devon Gayle and Wilfred Roberts. Members who served as Region 3, Area 9 Chairs were: Hopeton Heron, Andrew Jackson, Dennis Hartley, Halden Morris, Devon Gayle and Life Senior Member Wilfred A. Roberts.

Senior IEEE members in the Jamaica Section are: Hugh Brand, D.G. Campbell, D.A Hartley, D.A Simm, H.A. Morris, W. A. Roberts, D. Gayle, and B. Davidson.

The following are some of the activities in which the Jamaica Section has been engaged:
Electro-technology Seminars
Packet Switching Seminars
Annual Luncheons
Video-Conferences
Technical Visits
Technical Presentations
Presentations to clubs and schools
Regional Conferences
International Conferences
Public Technical Fora

JamCon '94, a one day conference, in July 1994 in Kingston, Jamaica, was held at the Jamaica Conference Centre. Although this conference targeted Caribbean presenters only, it was a remarkable success. With this experience, a decision was taken to organise JamCon '95, which targeted presenters worldwide. This conference was held in August of that year in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, at the Renaissance Jamaica Grande Resort, and was also was also a success.JamCon2000 was held at the same venue in August 2000.

The Jamaica Section was the major host for SoutheastCon 2003 which was held at the Renaissance Jamaica Grande Resort in Ocho Rios, Jamaica April 4-6, 2003. SoutheastCon is the annual Region 3 technical, professional, and student conference. It brought together electrical and computer engineering professionals and students to share the latest information through technical sessions, tutorials and exhibits. The student conference was the major event of Southeastcon, and the University of Technology, Jamaica was the host and sponsor of this program.

The student program was organized in five sections; the hardware, software, website, paper and T-shirt competitions. All competitions were designed by students of UTech. One hundred and ninety six (196) students and twenty (20) branch counsellors from thirty two (32) universities in the southeastern USA registered and attended the conference. The student conference was the most successful event of SoutheastCon 2003.

The Jamaica Section Website was launched on Thursday, 25th March, 1999. Content for the website was provided by Dennis Hartley and Wilfred Roberts. The Section Webmaster was Milverton Moore.

The IEEE Jamaica Section wishes to express appreciation to companies which have assisted its activities over the years. These companies include, inter alia, Cable and Wireless, Jamaica, The National Water Commission, The Jamaica Public Service Company, Alcan Jamaica Company, and Saint Andrew Investments, The National Commercial Bank, Carib Cement, Digicel Jamaica, and Air Jamaica.