A Leading Professional Association
Advancing Technology. For The Benefit of Humanity.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the leading professional association for the advancement of technology. It is the world's largest technical society, bringing members access to the industry's most essential technical information, networking opportunities, career development tools, and many other exclusive benefits. It has more than 400,000 members in more than 160 countries, 45% outside the United States.
In pursuing its goals toward advancements in the theory and practice of Electrical, Electronics, Communications and Computer Engineering, as well as Computer Science, IEEE serves as a major publisher of scientific journals and an academic conference organizer. It is also a leading standards organization in the development of industrial standards. As an engineering student, you may have already benefited from IEEE.
The goal of the IEEE UK student branch is to provide a healthy and fun networking tool for all students who wish to join our organization. It's important to not only get to know the Lexington chapter of IEEE, but to also create a foundation for students so that they can develop long-lasting professional ideals and friendships for the future.
IEEE has a broad and extensive range of opportunities for you and your career. As a member, there are many educational and career resources available to you such as publications, a job database, and scholarships. IEEE also offers many online communities and services that allow you to stay informed about your field of interest.
Faculty Contact
Regina Hannemann
859-257-5156
regina.hannemann@uky.edu
Officer Team
Join Us
IEEE Hardware Team Meeting Information
The hardware team meetings will be held on Mondays and Thursdays in the ECE Commons, from 5:00-7:00 PM. Meetings times may change each semester to accommodate for member schedules. Anyone interested in joining the hardware team should attend. Typically, the students are CS, COE, EE, or ME, but all majors are welcome! No technical knowledge necessary, we can teach you!
Want to know more about the hardware team?
Members of the hardware team will work together over the fall and spring semester to build a fully autonomous robot to compete in the SoutheastCon hardware competition! These competitions change after each competition with new rules, objectives, and courses so every year is completely different! Since each competition is completely different from the last, this means that each robot will be completely different from the last! Put your creativity and problem-solving skills into action by designing a robot that will complete these tasks. The rules for the 2025 SoutheastCon competition can be found on the official IEEE SoutheastCon website!
Membership in the University of Kentucky IEEE is open to individuals who by education or experience give evidence of competence in Engineering, Computer Science and Information Technology, Physical Sciences, Biological and Medical Sciences, Mathematics, Technical Communications, Education, Management, Law, and Policy.
National Membership
Becoming a national member will allow you to participate in organization wide events like IEEEXtreme and SoutheastCon, receive newsletters/magazines, network with other professionals, and get access to additional resources.
Frequently asked questions
Student Branch meetings happen usually once a month with an announcement in the discord being sent out beforehand. During these meetings, we will usually discuss the plans for meetings and events over the next month or two.
Hardware Team meetings will happen twice a week. During these meetings, we work on the robot to prepare it for the competition at SoutheastCon.
There are a lot of benefits that come with joining IEEE. By joining the national organization, you join a network of thousands of professionals. By joining the student branch, you will get the opportunity to meet professionals from the Lexington area, expand your learning opportunities, and add to your resume, as well as have a lot of fun while learning more about your major.
What you decide to do in IEEE is really up to you and what your interests are. If you are more interested in applying mechanical engineering, you can join the IEEE hardware team to construct CAD models and eventually assemble the robot we build every year. If you want to do something different, you can join the Ethics Team, design the annual IEEE SoutheastCon t-shirt, work on our website's design, or work with the hardware team in a different role other than what a mechanical engineer would normally do.
Absolutely! IEEE is a non-exclusive organization, and we welcome students of all majors.
IEEE generally doesn't take up a lot of your time unless you are in an officer position. Our general meetings are once a month and lasts about two hours, and if you want to join the hardware team, those meetings start out at 1-2 hours twice a week. During the peak season before SoutheastCon, those meetings may become more frequent. IEEE members can volunteer for fundraisers and events, which if you choose to do so may take more time. SoutheastCon takes up roughly three to four days alone. All meetings and events are optional, but all members are highly encouraged to attend.
The current group of officers are the Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Social Media Chair, and Hardware Team Lead. We may add more positions in the future as needed. Officers are elected at the end of every school year, usually in March or April. Elections run by popular vote of registered IEEE members.