Event Report | WESYP 2023 Congress, EPFL Lausanne, Switzerland by Alina-Irina Serban
The WESYP 2023 Congress took place between 15th and 17th September 2023 at Ecole Polytechnique Federale Lausanne (EPFL) and it provided a great opportunity to bring together IEEE members from Region 8.
On the first day of the event we were welcomed by the Dean of Engineering in EPFL who shared his journey within IEEE and the programmes he is involved in as part of the EPFL academics.
The following sessions were focused on opportunities for entrepreneurship and start-ups in Switzerland, followed by a session on the success stories of student branch activities and young professionals. During this session, I was thrilled to represent our own IEEE UK and Ireland Section during my talk about the Student Activities that our student branches organise. The latter part of the day we were tasked with pitching innovative ideas that would have a beneficial social impact and after presenting and hearing all the fantastic ideas that were developed in under half an hour we returned to the last two sessions of the day about Women in Engineering and Student Activities in Region 8. The evening ended with the gala dinner.
The second day of the Congress started with a poster session and it was followed by a range of keynote talks and panel discussions throughout the day. From Quantum Computing, conversational AI, and applications of AI in telecommunications to finding the right work-life balance, self-branding and learning about the RoboCup Soccer League. The day ended with a guided tour of Lausanne and a multicultural evening where we shared foods from around the world.
The last day was focused on green energy talks and panel discussions, followed by a session on career planning. Overall, WESYP was a fantastic opportunity to meet like-minded individuals and make connections, expand my network and open doors for future collaborations.
Last, but not least, this event would not have been possible without the dedication of the IEEE members from across the globe and the people at the EPFL IEEE SB and Switzerland YP who organised this year’s event.
Alina-Irina Serban
Student Activities Chair
