IEEE Jamaica Section SoutheastCon 2003 Conference Report January 6, 2003 THEME: "Bridging the Digital Divide" The committee continues to meet on a bi-weekly basis. The next meeting will be held on January 08, 2003. SoutheastCon 2003 will be held at the Renaissance Jamaica Grande Resort during April 4 - 6 2003. Sponsorships: Total sponsorship offer to date is exceeding $15,000.00. Continuous efforts are being made to followup the companies that made promises earlier. To date the committee has received cash sponsorship from one company and promise from several others. Secured sponsorship include: National Commercial Bank, Ministry of Commerce & Technology, Comtech, Air Jamaica, KSA Engineering and NORTEL. Other companies from which we expect sponsorship are Jamaica Public Service Co., Cable & Wireless, Digicel, Centennial Digital, Caribbean Cement Company, Wyndalco, Microsoft, Cisco and Powerware. The Sponsorship target for the committee is $45,000.00 Alliances: Two Universities have agreed to be major sponsors of the Conference. The University of Technology - Jamaica will be responsible for the student conference whereas the University of the West Indies has agreed to sponsor the technical conference. The Jamaica Tourist Board has promised to work as closely as possible with the section in staging the conference, also, the ministry of Industry, Commerce and Technology will also play a role in implementing the conference and has offered to sponsor a student competition. Conference Insurance: The IEEE Financial Operations & Support Services has provided insurance for the conference. Travel Arrangements: The IEEE travel agency has agreed to manage all air travel arrangements at no cost to the conference. Air Jamaica has been selected as the designated conference carrier, however, American Airlines has agreed to offer similar discounts to all persons traveling to the conference. Shuttles will be available as ground transportation from airport to the hotels. The normal charge for this service is U$30.00 round trip. Sponsorship is being sought for this part of travel for students. Papers: The call for papers has been distributed in the region. This document can also be accessed at the conference website www.southeastcon.com or the IEEE Jamaica Section website at www.ewh.ieee.org/r3/jamaica. The call for paper was also posted at www.callforpapers.com. To date the committee has received sixty five (65) papers and abstracts. Three proposals for tutorials were also received. Full papers were sent to IEEE international referees whereas abstracts will be locally read and selected. Student Competitions: Plans are on the way at the University of Technology to host the competitions. The University of Technology, Jamaica and its IEEE student branch are responsible for making arrangements to host all the competitions. Job Fair & Exhibitions: Companies are being contacted to purchase space in the exhibition hall. Application form and the layout of the exhibition hall can be viewed at the conference website. Several exhibitors have indicated positive interest in the conference. The committee is planning to attract at least 20 exhibitors. Social Programmes: In addition to the all inclusive package offered by the hotel, the IEEE Jamaica Section is planning an attractive spouses programme. The UTech student branch is also planning and extremely attractive social programme for the students. A pre conference golf tournament is being planned for those golf enthusiasts who wish to have some fun before the conference. Registration for the tournament is currently being solicited. Kindly visit the conference website for more information. Web Site: The Jamaica Section Webmaster Milverton remains committed to the task and has developed a very informative and attractive website. The conference website, www.southeastcon.com is updated on a weekly basis to give prospective attendees the most current information. On-Line Registration: The on-line registration has not been activated. We are hoping to have this done at an early date since several persons have been calling for this Halden A. Morris, PE, Ph.D. Wilfred Roberts Chair, SoutheastCon 2003 Vice Chair - SoutheastCon 2003 Sub Committees Finance, Sponsorship & Registration - Halden Morris, Almin Forrest, Stephen Legister, Owen Clashing Promotions & PR - Wilfred Roberts, Milverton Moore, Winston Browning Technical Programmes & CD Production - Mervyn Curtis, Michael Craven, Stephen Legister Student Programme & Competitions - Andreiyev Richards, Vincent Hewitt, Peter Spence, Julian Romanetti, Denise Edwards, Michael Craven Job Fair & Exhibition - Winston Smith, Halden Morris Logistics, Travel & Accommodation, Social Programmes - Devon Gayle, Amlin Forrest, Carolyn Ferguson Regional Members (Registration, Promotions & PR, Student Programme & Competitions, Speakers) - Don Hill, Region 3 ExCom