I am pleased to have been invited to comment briefly about the start of the IEEE Student Branch at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST). [UMIST and the Victoria University of Manchester were re-formed in 2004 to constitute the University of Manchester.]
The Branch was started in 2002 by an enthusiastic group of research students in the Microwave Engineering Group at UMIST. The first officers of the Branch were Vee Hoong Mok (President), Lian Yuh Tio (Vice-President), Suba Subramaniam (Secretary) and C Nuwan Dharmasiri (Treasurer). Their motivation was to provide a focus for student activity and to increase student awareness of the breadth and liveliness of the international microwave community.
In due course the Presidency and Vice-Presidency were passed on to Alex Masidlover and Hong Siang, respectively, and other research students volunteered to take on other responsibilities. Since its formation the Branch has organised industrial visits and external engineers and scientists have given seminars under its banner. With the infectious enthusiasm of the students, and support from the academic staff, the Branch has gone from strength to strength. With the growth and diversity of the discipline we call “Microwave Engineering”, this trend looks set to continue and I wish the Branch every success in the future.
