It is time to start planning for the Fall 2003 IEEE Canada Student Leadership Training Workshop. As requested by many student branch representatives at last year's workshop, we will continue the single national workshop format from last year. It is important for the continued success of your student branch that you send a representative if at all possible. Please note that we have had to make some changes to the rules regarding who can and cannot attend, so please read this page carefully!

The 2003 workshop for all Canadian IEEE Student Branches will be held on September 20-21, 2003 at the London Four Point Sheraton hotel at London, Ontario. Jorge Aguirre, Cathie Lowell, our Regional Administrative Assistant, and I are planning the workshop. The activities of the workshop will begin early on Saturday morning and will finish at about noon on Sunday. The attendees are expected to arrive on Friday, September 19th, although there will be no official workshop activities on that day.

A registration form is linked in two formats, select PDF or TEXT. It should be returned by e-mail or by fax to Cathie Lowell before August 17th, 2003 (you must book your hotel room through Cathie Lowell, not directly with the hotel). After this date, the hotel rooms will be released and they will be on a space available basis. You will be provided with an agenda prior to the workshop. The rooms will be booked en masse by Cathie Lowell. Once you return your forms to her, she will confirm your registration and send you more details. Her address is:
      Cathie Lowell, IEEE Canada
      18 Robinhood Drive
      Dundas, Ontario, L9H 4G1
      Phone/Fax: (905) 628-9554
      Email: c.lowell@ieee.org

All schools should bring a 1-2 page report summarizing their activities of last year and presenting their goals for this year. This is your chance to share your success (or failures) with your peers and your chance to hear what they are doing.

Who Can Attend

Unfortunately, we have had to restrict the numbers of people attending this year because of budgetary restrictions. Each Student Branch will have only ONE student executive member's travel reimbursed (independently of the number of IEEE Branch Chapters present at the school). If the Student Branch wishes to send a second student representative, they will be responsible for their own travel costs, but we will supply them with a hotel room (on Friday and Saturday nights) and meals for Saturday and Sunday.

In addition, the Student Branch Counsellor for each Student Branch is requested to attend, if he or she has not attended the workshop before. Please note that we cannot fund a second student member if the Branch Counsellor cannot attend.

Travel Arrangements

You are expected to find the least expensive practical mode of transportation to the Workshops. If you are travelling by air, this usually requires that you purchase your tickets well in advance (check with a travel agent). You are warmly encouraged to use the services of a charter (like Westjet) instead of a regular flight company in order to get better airfares. With the ISIC card (International Student Identity Card), you can usually get cheaper flight rates. Please be careful when booking your airplane ticket, the workshop location is London, Ontario (airport code YXU) and not London in United Kingdom!

Please note that excessive travel expenses will not be reimbursed. For personal vehicles used, a mileage allowance (listed below) based on the point-to-point distance between your city and the workshop will be paid (no other expenses for the car will be paid, eg. gas, etc.).

The following are 2003 Region 7 (IEEE Canada) Expense Guidelines, which must be adhered to:
• Expense claims must be submitted within 30 days of the expenses being incurred.
• Original receipts must accompany each item claimed and the expense form must be signed!
• For electronic airline tickets, boarding cards must be submitted with the ticket.
• Car allowance of $0.32/km to the equivalent airfare is available for those members who choose to use their own vehicles.
• Telephone calls are not a reimbursable expense.
• Car rentals are not a reimbursable expense.
• Region 7 provides and pays for hotel and meal expenses at the Workshop (all hotel room incidentals will be paid by the individual).
• Region 7 will reimburse members for flight cancellation insurance.
• Additional hotel and meal expenses will not be reimbursed.

I think that previous attendees will agree that the workshop is an enjoyable and informative experience. It's a chance to meet student branch leaders from across Canada and at the same time obtain the information and ideas you need to successfully plan your branch's activities for the coming year. Please make every effort to send a representative from your school.

Regards,

Dominic Rivard, Eng.
IEEE Region 7 (IEEE Canada) Student Activities Coordinator
E-Mail: d.rivard@ieee.org