Two UH Cullen College of Engineering students have been awarded travel grants by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Region 5 to attend the annual IEEE Future Leaders Forum.
The Future Leaders Forum strives to provide an opportunity for students and young professionals to network with industry leaders and hone their capacities to innovate, collaborate and lead in a dynamic environment.
Anastasiya Kopteva, an undergraduate marketing student and researcher in the department of electrical and computer engineering’s Laboratory for Noninvasive Brain-Machine Interface Systems, and Jesus Cruz-Garza, a doctoral student in electrical engineering, will attend the conference as representatives for the UH-IEEE student chapter.
Kopteva, who is currently serving as the public relations chair for the organization, said she believes this conference will provide a unique opportunity for her to grow into her role and better promote the UH-IEEE student chapter.
“I became interested in being IEEE’s PR chair because I didn’t feel like there was enough information out there about how diverse the organization really is,” said Kopteva. “IEEE has many different outlets, and I want to show other students that you can find any one of your interests within the organization.”
Cruz-Garza, who serves as the graduate chair for UH-IEEE, said he took on the role to serve as a voice of graduate students and represent them in the organization.
“Though IEEE is one of the largest engineering organizations in the world, I felt that there was little representation of the graduate community, and I would like to change that,” he said.
When asked about their goals for the conference, both Kopteva and Cruz-Garza said they look forward to connecting with industry professionals and sharing information about the research conducted at UH.
“I’m mostly interested in participating in the conversation. When there are so many leading industry professionals in one room, I think amazing conversations can happen,” said Kopteva.
The IEEE Future Leaders Forum will take place from July 28-30 at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.