Dr. Ramalatha Marimuthu, Asst Professor at Easwari Engineering College’s Department of ECE, recalls her own story. A qualified engineer, on graduating in 1986 she had to turn down a plum industry job offer as it required her to relocate. But today, as President of Women in Engineering (WIE) she encourages female engineering aspirants to pursue their engineering dreams in academia, research or the industry. WIE, an arm of IEEE (global organisation for advancing technological innovation), kicked off in India in 2002. Today, it has 79 ‘Affinity’ groups comprising college branches and city chapters (see the listing on IEEE website).
 

Membership for students is free. Benefits of the membership include access to WIE’s worldwide directory, i.e. a listing of active WIE members across the world including women engineers/ scientists, a monthly WIE e-newsletter with career information, updates on local affinity group activities, IEEE news and more, and WIE’s magazine is shipped twice a year along with IEEE’s technology publication Spectrum. Student members can also volunteer or participate in WIE activities.

 

Working on projects, which focus on solving real-time problems is a thrust activity. “For instance, we developed a gait-correcting mat for mentally challenged children,” shares Dr. Marimuthu. You can also coordinate events, mentor or serve as an officer in Student-Teacher and Research Engineer/ Scientist (STAR), WIE’s pre-university outreach programme for school children above Class 8. STAR encourages girls from a young age to pursue careers in Mathematics, Science, and Engineering. Forming an Affinity group: If there is no Affinity Group in your area, why not start one of your own in your area or college? All you have to do is recruit six other IEEE members willing to be part of the Affinity Group and submit a petition. For details, visit http://www.ieee.org or IEEE’s Facebook page or write to Keyana Tennant, Program manager at women@ieee.org

 

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
Formed in March 2006, IET is an amalgamation of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) and the Institution of Incorporated Engineers (IIE). The IET has more than 1.5 lakh members in 37 countries out of which 3,800 are in India. “We aim to provide support to members right from leaving school up to their retirement, including finding a job and specific advice on various technologies,” says Mike Bridgefoot, Head of Registration and Standards at IET.
 

IET also publishes more than 100 new titles every year; a rich mix of books, journals and magazines and also organizes over 120 conferences and events on yearly basis. “The members can also browse through thousands of lectures available on IET TV,” adds Mike.
 

IET Faraday is an award-winning educational resource of the body which reaches all schools in the UK with the aim of enthusing young people about science, technology and engineering. Over 1,000 undergraduate programmes in the UK are accredited by the IET.
 

“The reason why people become members of IET is to ensure their continued professional development,” explains Mike. Every applicant has to go through competency assessment including an interview in line with the guidelines of the Engineering Council before the membership is awarded. The senior members help in the evaluation  process. Details of the various kinds of membership and the required profiles are tabulated below:

 

 IET Memberships