Chapter 6: Student Professional Awareness Activities

•      Where can I go to improve my resume writing skills?
•      Where can I go to learn how to improve my interviewing skills?
•            When looking for a job, should I consider a large company, a small company, a consulting firm?
•            What about after I get some experience?  How do I start my own company?  How do I go about finding clients?
•      What about short-term contract work to gain some experience?
•            Where can I go to find a more experienced working professional to act as my mentor and/or role model?

C.   Ethical standards and conduct ( Professional Ethics and Societal Responsibility )

•            What standard do I apply to my dealings with colleagues, other employees, clients, and the public?
•            What should I do if my personal or professional integrity is in conflict with my company's poli­cies?
•      When is it o.k. to "blow the whistle" on others?
•      What happens if I get sued over something I designed?
•      What if I get asked to be an "expert witness" in a court case?
•      What is the relationship between technology and society?
•      What can be done to raise the public's awareness of the engineering profession?

D.  Personal management skill development ( Self-Management )

•      How can I learn to manage my time for now and for the future?
•      Where can I learn about financial planning skills?
•      Do I need to carry professional liability insurance?  How much do I need to carry?
•      When should I start planning for my future?  Pensions? Investments?
•            I can't seem to keep the meetings that I chair on track.  Where do I learn some meeting manage­ment skills?

E.   Our role in shaping and building public policy ( The Engineer and Public Policy )

•      What is involved in interacting with government and regulatory agencies?
•      Where can I learn about legislation that affects me?
•      How come "non-technical" people are making the rules that restrict what I can do?
•      What can I do to get involved in influencing or changing public policy?
•      What about running for office?

F.   The function of professional societies, such as the IEEE, in your career and your profession

      ( Role of the Professional Society )

•      What is the benefit of volunteer activities?
•      What do I personally get out of being involved in the IEEE?

S-PACs are planned, organized, and implemented by IEEE Student Branches.  Presenting an S-PAC allows students to gain valuable management experience and self-confidence.  The initial sugges­tion for an S-PAC may come from the students themselves or from other IEEE members (e.g., a profes­sor or a Section representative).  IEEE volunteers can provide experienced counsel and encouragement, but the students bear the full responsibility for all aspects of the S-PAC.

Electrical engineering and technology students are the primary participants in S-PACs, although students in other engineering disciplines may be invited.  Students at nearby schools also may be invited to participate, in order to ensure a larger audience.  S-PACs permit students to learn from the varied experience of successful professionals.  Furthermore, they have the potential to increase student member­ship and encourage ongoing participation in the IEEE.

The Student Branch should establish a tentative date for its S-PAC (lead time of six months is recommended) and appoint a Planning Committee of six to ten people.  The Planning Committee is responsible for organizing the program, obtaining financial support, making meeting arrangements, finding the speakers, and promoting the S-PAC.

Successful S-PAC programs usually include two or three speakers and a discussion panel.  The Planning Committee should contact the Regional S-PAC Coordinator who can provide valuable counseling regarding program content and speaker selection.

The Planning Committee should estimate the costs involved and identify income sources.  Financial contributions may come from the Student Branch treasury, the school, local industry, and the local IEEE Section, Council, or Region.

IEEE normally reimburses the travel and accommodation expenses of the speakers, if you cannot find local speakers.  In Regions 1-6, these funds come from the USAB/SPAC.  Elsewhere they may come from your Region.  Your branch may also apply for additional S-PAC funds through RAB/SAC/SPAA.  Your request for this subsidy must be accompanied by the Budget Planning Worksheet at least six weeks before your S-PAC date.

The IEEE RAB/SAC Subcommittee on Student Professional Awareness Activities (RAB/SAC/SPAA) provides funds for S-PAVes in Regions 7-10, while the IEEE United States Activities Board/Student Professional Awareness Committee (USAB/SPAC) administers the program for Regions 1-6.  These ventures can be of any nature except those that duplicate the S-PAC program, for which there is separate funding.

Your venture must address the goals of the S-PAVe program, which are:

1.         To develop prototype activities or materials that would enhance the awareness of IEEE Student Members to issues concerned with professionalism.  You may select topics from the summary of issues in Section 6.1, or propose new topics that deal with non-technical issues.

2.         To increase IEEE Student Membership, with a particular focus on non-graduating students (i.e. first, second, or third year undergraduates, new graduate students)

3.   To provide new services for the Student Branch Membership

4.   To enable IEEE Student Branches to gain experience in project planning and organization.

Your proposed venture may lead to an activity that spans days, weeks or months, but should not generally exceed one school semester.  It may involve one or more IEEE Student Branches (in fact, we encourage IEEE Student Branches to work together).

The section on Student Professional Awareness Activities was compiled from a number of IEEE documents.  Should you need more information or additional copies of any guide or worksheet, you can contact:

Regions 1-6:                                                                Regions 7-10:

John Paserba, Chair                                       Joey Duvall, Chair

IEEE USA SPAC Committee                            RAB/SAC/SPAA

Mitsubishi Electric Power Products                    10555 Leader Lane

530 Keystone Drive                                           Orlando, FL32825-7220

Warrendale, PA  15086

            Email: j.paserba@ieee.org                                  Email:  j.duvall@ieee.org

Ms. Sandra Kim                                              Ms. Laura J. Durrett                         

Administrator, UEEE USA                                IEEE Student Services Manager                       

Professional Programs                                      445 Hoes Lane/ PO Box 1331               

1828 L Street, N.W., Suite 1202                        Piscataway, New Jersey                                   

Washington, D.C.  20036-5104                           USA    08855-1331                               

Tel:  +1 202 785 0017                                        Tel: +1 732 562-5523                            

Fax: +1 202 785 0835                                         Fax: +1 732 463-9359                           

Break into groups of six, with as many participants from one school as possible.  For example, your group of six might be comprised of two students and a Branch Counselor from School A, two stu­dents from School B, and a Branch Counselor from School C.  You should jot down ideas for either an S-PAC or an S-PAVe.  Try to be as specific as possible.  Decide on a format, what type of speakers if an S-PAC, or what type of activity if an S-PAVe.  Determine whom you would approach for funding, and if you have time, draft out a rough budget.