UBC IEEE Student Branch wins Darrel Chong Student Activity Award for their International Field Trip

Every year in May, the IEEE Student Branch – UBC Chapter organizes a field trip overseas to visit exciting engineering schools, research institutions and companies. Over the years the club has taken students to some of the most advanced companies around the world. Their 2015 trip, a whirlwind tour of South Korea, won The Darrel Chong Student Activity Award with Gold standing.

The annual field trip is designed to give students opportunities to learn about the global nature of the engineering profession and engineering culture, and to provide professional networking opportunities abroad. The trip helps students discover the enormous flexibility and opportunity in the engineering profession around the world. In addition, the field trip increases awareness for UBC and the UBC Engineering Co-op program abroad.

Students visited Seoul National University, Flitto, Samsung Electronics, National Fusion Research Institute, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, SK Telecom, and Kia Motors.
At the National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon, South Korea students learned about Korea’s progress with nuclear fusion reactors. In the image you can see the KSTAR test reactor from the raised walkways.
In the clean room at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, National Nanofab Center, Daejeon, South Korea  students were shown how clean room environments are maintained and how the latest chip fabrication techniques are developed by researchers.
Students viewed the entire assembly line from shaping steel and welding, through final assembly and packaging for shipping at the Sohari Plant, Gwangmyeong, South Korea.

Last May, the student branch visited Munich, Germany and Milan, Italy for their 8th annual trip. The students visited companies like BMW, STMicroelectronics, Rohde & Schwarz, A2A Energia and Advanced Navigation Systems. They saw first-hand cutting edge research at top institutions like the Technical University of Munich (Walter Schottky Institut) and Politecnico di Milano.  This coming year, the 9th annual trip is tentatively planned to be to Japan. As a leader in many fields of electrical and computer engineering such as robotics and electronics, Japan is a fantastic destination for aspiring engineers looking to network and learn about the industry. If you’re interested in visiting some of the leading Japanese tech companies while getting to see the country, visit the UBC-IEEE Field Trip Page and stay tuned for more details!

The Darrel Chong Student Activity Award recognizes value-driven and exemplary student activities around the world. The goal is to improve the quality of activities and to foster knowledge sharing among students in IEEE Student Branches and Women in Engineering student groups.

The UBC IEEE Student Branch is UBC’s student club for members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Club members come together to talk about their classes, work experiences, and their future life as engineers. The club won the IEEE Regional Exemplary Student Branch Award in 2016.

The IEEE Student Branch – UBC Chapter would like to thank the following organizations for their support throughout the years: UBC Electrical and Computer Engineering, UBC Faculty of Applied Science Professional Activities Fund, UBC Go Global, IEEE Vancouver Section, IEEE Canadian Foundation Special Grants, and all other organizations that have supported the club. Without the support from these organizations this annual trip would not have been possible.