ComSoc Member Activities Across the Regions
Robert Schober
President
2024-2025
Ana Garcia Armada
Vice President, Member and Global Activities
R Venkatesha Prasad
Director, Member Services Board
Member and Global Activities (MGA) is one of the main activities of the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) to serve its members. Member and Global activities are headed by the vice president (VP-MGA). The VP-MGA oversees the MGA Council, representing all the regional boards, the member services board (MSB), the industry outreach board, and several standing committees- Sister societies, Women in Communication Engineering, and Young Professionals. In this President’s page, I am pleased to introduce Ana Garcia Armada, VP MGA and the Chair of MGA-Council, and R Venkatesha Prasad, Director of Member Services and the Chair of the MSB, to share details about the overall work of MGA and its volunteers, and the operation of the council and the board. These two assemblies oversee all the activities of MGA, allocate funds, and lead the development of activities.
Ana Garcia Armada is a professor at the University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain, where she leads the Communications Research Group. She has been a visiting scholar at Stanford University, Bell Labs, and the University of Southampton. She has coordinated more than 40 national and international research projects and 20 contracts with the industry. She has published over 250 papers in international journals and conference proceedings and holds seven patents. She has contributed to global standards organizations, such as ITU and ETSI. She is a member of the expert group of the NetworldEurope European Technology Platform. She has been the Vice-Chair of the ESA’s advisory committee 5JAC, as the expert appointed by Spain on 5G. She has been a member of the organizing committee of IEEE GLOBECOM 2019, IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC) Spring 2019, Fall 2018, and Spring 2018, among others. Most recently, she has been the General Co-Chair of IEEE GLOBECOM 2021, Madrid, Spain, and General Chair of IEEE MeditCom 2024, Madrid, Spain. She received the IEEE ComSoc/KICS Exemplary Global Service Award in 2022.
R. Venkatesha Prasad is a faculty member in the Networked Systems group at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). He has supervised over 20 PhD and 85 MSc students and co-authored nearly 350 peer-reviewed publications across journals, conferences, standards, and book chapters. He has executed multiple European and Dutch national projects in IoT, CPS, mmWave networks, and Personal Networks. Prasad earned the 4TU University Teaching Qualification diploma with excellence. His research on IoT earned him the ComSoc Distinguished Lecturer. He contributes to standardisation efforts on Cognitive Radios and as a mentor for the IEEE Tactile Internet & 6G Empowering Robotics standards. He is currently vice chair of the MobiNet-SC. His Ph.D. at IISc, Bangalore, on a Scalable VoIP conferencing platform helped establish a start-up, Esqube Communication Solutions. NASSCOM recognised Esqube as one of the Top 100 IT Innovators in India (2006) and by RedHerring as one of the Top 100 Promising Companies in Asia (2008). He is a Senior Member of IEEE and ACM and a Fellow of IETE.
MGA has many volunteers, and the main volunteers to oversee the work of the boards and standing committees are shown in this table:
| Director Industry Outreach | Fawzi Behmann |
| Director Asia/Pacific Region | Lingyang Song |
| Director Europe, Middle-East & Africa Region | José Javier Berrocal Olmeda |
| Director Latin America Region | Yessica Saez |
| Director North America Region | Besma Smida |
| Chair of Women in Communications Engineering | Toktam Mahmoodi |
| Chair Young Professionals | Virginia Pilloni |
| Twin Chapters Program | Mohab Mangoud |
| Students Activities committee | Sai Prashanth |
| Enhanced Mentoring Program | BS Manoj and Anindya Saha |
This article has been prepared with contributions from Lingyang Song, José Javier Berrocal Olmeda, Yessica Saez, Besma Smida, Mohab Mangoud, Trish Jaraicie, Sai Prashanth, B.S. Manoj, and Anindya Saha.
Membership Statistics
This article provides a bird’s-eye view of ComSoc activities across the regions. First, let us look at the membership during the immediate months when preparing this article and the statistics. Like for IEEE in general and all society memberships, the ComSoc membership numbers fluctuate throughout the year, depending on new memberships and renewals, with the highest counts at the end of February. For administrative purposes, the geographical spread is divided into four regions. North America has close to 8,500 members, with professional chapters and student branch chapters (SBC), as given in the graphics in Fig. 1. Europe, the Middle East, and Africa have close to 6,700 members, Latin America has around 1,500 members, and the highest member numbers are from Asia Pacific, where ComSoc has close to 16,000 members, thus totaling approximately 33,000 members. These numbers were as of June 2025, with projections of reaching 40,000 members by the end of the year. ComSoc’s overall membership has increased by 8.79% compared to last year. The number of professional chapters and SBC are shown in the illustration in Fig. 1.
Membership Activities Across the Regions
Membership and our community are ComSoc’s most significant assets, and the MGA-Council, Regions, WICE, and YP sponsor various programs each year, investing in this great community. In 2025 alone, ComSoc will provide nearly $240,000 to ComSoc professionals, twin, and student branch chapters to host local events, speakers, and more. $150,000 will be invested in the Distinguished Lecturer program, which brings 70+ selected experts to chapters, regional, and local for technical discussions. Another $75,000 has been directed to support student and career skills programs, including two Career Fairs at ComSoc’s ICC and PIMRC conferences, as well as 15 regional Student Tech Leadership conferences hosted by student branch chapters, and, of course, our Student Competition. We have had many activities across the globe organized by the regional boards. In the sequel, we enlist selected activities illustrative of the major initiatives in each region.
IEEE ComSoc North America
The North America (NA) region had many important membership-related activities, and here are some snippets. The region has hosted many distinguished lecturers, including virtual lectures. One of the important activities was the ComSoc Mentoring Program. This program was first launched as a pilot at Globecom 2022, organized as a Women in Communications Engineering (WICE) and Young Professionals (YP) joint initiative. It offers mentorship opportunities for IEEE ComSoc students and YP members (mentees) by connecting them with faculty, researchers from R&D labs, and industry professionals (mentors). Participants gain valuable benefits, including career development support, expanded professional networks, enhanced skills and competencies, exposure to diverse perspectives, knowledge sharing, and personal brand building. Since its launch, the program has been highly successful and is now regularly co-located with ComSoc flagship conferences — ICC and Globecom. In the past year alone, it engaged more than 100 students and brought together over 40 mentors from academia and industry.
Another highlight is the 2025 IEEE-USA Congressional Visits Day. ComSoc NA Region supported the IEEE USA congressional visits. This year, there was a record number of 240 impactful meetings with Senators and representatives, fostering important discussions on issues that matter to our community.
IEEE ComSoc Europe, Middle East, and Africa
Throughout 2024, various activities have been funded in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region to increase the visibility of IEEE ComSoc. For example, the IEEE Region 8 Student and Young Professional Congress 2024 in Grenoble (https://grenoble-2024.ieeer8syp.org/) was sponsored. This congress had not previously received support from IEEE ComSoc; however, several initiatives were carried out this year, including the installation of stands and the delivery of talks, which have strengthened IEEE ComSoc’s presence.
In 2025 an event for Young Professionals, WICE, and students has been proposed. The event aims to foster interaction between participants and companies, including a guided tour featuring a demonstrator for Industry 4.0 and 5.0 technologies. This event is designed for approximately 50 attendees. In addition, funding will be provided for the JSYP25, the largest IEEE student and young professional event in Jordan, bringing together over 500 students, graduates, and technology leaders from across the country. This year’s theme was “Internet of Things (IoT): Connecting the Future.”
In addition, in 2024, the IEEE ComSoc EMEA Awards were organised, granting three distinctions: the Young Researcher Award, the Distinguished Service Award, and the Industrial Innovation Award. This call for nominations received more than 20 applications for the various awards. Among these, the Industrial Innovation Award is particularly noteworthy, as this was the first edition of this award, which aims to promote and highlight corporate innovation and its connection with IEEE ComSoc. In 2025, these awards will be presented again, with a new award focused on emerging and underdeveloped areas. This latest award aims to showcase the research and innovation work carried out by IEEE ComSoc members that contributes to the advancement and development of these areas.
Finally, efforts have been made to reactivate chapters that have been inactive in recent years. For example, the Qatar Chapter has been reinstated. This revival brings new opportunities for collaboration and professional development in Qatar, contributing to the expansion of IEEE ComSoc’s presence and impact in the Middle East.
IEEE ComSoc Latin America
In March 2025, the IEEE ComSoc School Series was successfully held at Universidad de Antioquia in Medellín, Colombia. With 30 students participating, the event provided lectures in both English and Spanish, hands-on tutorials, and panels focused on networking, future internet, and artificial intelligence (AI) security. A key highlight was the panel “How to Build a Career in Communications, Industry, and Academia,” offering valuable insights from professionals. The event also included local field trips that fostered cultural exchange and networking, receiving excellent feedback from participants, with 100% satisfaction reported in post-event surveys.
In June, ComSoc participated in the IEEE Brazil National Meeting of Student Branches and Young Professionals (RNR&RNYP) in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil, which gathered over 220 registered volunteers. Society booths, hands-on activities, and society-specific talks enhanced collaboration among chapters during this event. A special highlight was the Sister Chapter Program (SCP) activity between Colombia and Centro-Norte Brazil, leading to a proposal to create a joint SBC AP-S/SPS/ComSoc chapter in Rio de Janeiro, which has been approved. This initiative strengthened international ties and student engagement across the region.
Finally, the launch of the ComSoc LATAM Student Contest 2025, Applying ICT for the Environment, has sparked regional interest, offering undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to propose innovative ICT solutions to environmental challenges. With dozens of entries expected across Latin America, the contest promotes sustainability awareness and technological innovation, culminating with the winner being recognized at IEEE LATINCOM 2025.
IEEE ComSoc Asia Pacific
The ComSoc Asia Pacific Board (APB) offers an exceptional platform for stimulating, coordinating, and promoting the activities of ComSoc members and Chapters throughout the Asia Pacific (AP) Region. It is the largest region regarding the number of members and geographical area. The past year has seen many significant achievements across diverse initiatives.
The AP Outstanding Paper Award celebrates research excellence, with three exemplary papers receiving this distinction in 2024: “Deep Reinforcement Learning Based Intelligent Reflecting Surface for Secure Wireless Communications,” “Joint Device Scheduling and Resource Allocation for Latency Constrained Wireless Federated Learning,” and “Integrating Sensing and Communications for Ubiquitous IoT Applications: Trends and Challenges.” The AP Young Researcher Award recognizes exceptional early-career researchers’ creative contributions and impact on the field. This honor went to Prof. Changsheng You in 2024 for his contributions to intelligent reflecting surface empowered wireless communication and sensing. The ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion led to the establishment of the AP Women in Communication Engineering (WICE) Outstanding Achievement Award in 2024. This prestigious recognition was awarded to Prof. Sumei Sun in 2024 for her contributions to wireless research, technology translation, and the wireless community.
To facilitate the exchange of insights and experiences between distinguished researchers and young professionals (YP), the region hosted an international workshop on intelligent communications and signal processing in Beijing in August 2024 (number of attendees is over 100). Many inspiring talks were presented in the workshop, such as “How IEEE ComSoc can Help Your Career Development” by the past president Prof. Sherman Shen, “Emerging WLANs Technology: Future Directions and Open Challenges” by Prof. Nei Kato, and “Deep Learning based Radio Map for MIMO and Cell-Free Massive MIMO” by Prof. Wei Zhang. In addition, an international workshop on mathematical issues in information science in Shenzhen in December 2024, attended by over 70, and co-organized ICC 2025 YP panels, including a panel on “6G Key Enablers: Opportunities and Roadblocks Toward the Next-Generation Wireless Networks.”
New Initiatives for Member Services
Many new initiatives are unique to IEEE ComSoc across all regions. Below is a brief account of three such activities.
Twin Chapters Program (Formerly, Sister Chapters Program)
The IEEE Communications Society Sister Chapters Program (SCP), launched in 2023, has quickly become a flagship initiative for fostering global collaboration, student empowerment, and cross-cultural exchange across IEEE regions. This is an initiative where two chapters, geographically far apart, are brought together. The MGA council supports the activities, and the idea is to make members from different cultures and countries mingle and learn from each other, not only technical aspects, but also to understand the values and challenges in various cultural and educational settings. Prof. Mohab Mangoud coordinates the initiative.
Now in its third year, the 2025 edition has already delivered impressive achievements, connecting chapters and volunteers through impactful activities. The initiative has achieved remarkable milestones, delivering 19 impactful events that span technical webinars, leadership workshops, student competitions, and cross-regional collaborations. One of the program’s central objectives is to foster the creation of new student branches. In the first half of 2025, four new SBCs were established in Australia, Chile, Ghana, and Sri Lanka, reflecting the program’s commitment to global expansion and student empowerment. The year also featured cutting-edge technical sessions on 6G, NextG networks, HTTP/3, cybersecurity, thoughtful city planning, valuable soft skills, and LaTeX training workshops. Regional collaborations such as the Sri Lanka–Kerala joint events, Lebanon–UAE partnerships, Australia–Kolkata outreach, and Bangalore–Spain exchange strengthened bonds across continents, while flagship activities like the Brazil RNR & RNYP meeting and the Waves & Hunters SDR competition in Ecuador showcased innovation, volunteerism, and community engagement. Together, these initiatives demonstrate how the SCP continues to foster innovation, collaboration, and professional growth across the global IEEE ComSoc community in 2025.
Some milestones reflect the SCP’s role in strengthening IEEE ComSoc’s global footprint while empowering students with resources, networking, and leadership opportunities. There were successful technical webinars and training for professional development, such as Leadership for Tomorrow’s Engineers, and Beginner-friendly LaTeX and Scientific Writing Workshop. True to its mission, the SCP strengthened bonds across continents with several high-impact collaborations by attracting participants from across IEEE regions, promoting shared knowledge and global engagement. Cross-regional collaboration was also held, including a few in-person meetings with members from the different areas. These collaborations advanced technical knowledge and fostered long-term cultural and professional ties. Two outstanding events are the Brazil RNR & RNYP meeting (June 19–22, Juiz de Fora, MG), which gathered 220+ volunteers in a transformative student and YP experience. The IEEE Waves & Hunters SDR Competition in Ecuador, where participants showcased creativity and innovation in radio technologies through fox hunting and AM/FM demodulation. With the momentum building, the remainder of 2025 promises even greater achievements, culminating in the SCP Congress at year’s end. Together, these efforts highlight the program’s role as more than just a collaboration model — it is a thriving global community of innovation, learning, and connection. There will also be an award for the best pair.
Students’ Activities
Students’ activities are thriving across the regions under ComSoc with the dynamic leadership of the VP-MGA and (regional) directors. Here are some highlights of the students’ activities. IEEE ComSoc marked a significant milestone in 2025 by launching two programs. These two programs are led by Mr. Sai Prashanth, the chair of student activities of the Member Services Board (MSB), and were conceptualised and executed under the strategic direction of the VP-MGA and the director of MSB.
The inaugural Student Ambassadors Program — an initiative to energize student engagement, foster leadership, and promote the global visibility of IEEE ComSoc programs. Launched in March 2025, the program drew an overwhelming response, receiving over 140 applications from all IEEE regions. After a rigorous selection process, 70 student ambassadors were chosen — each representing a diverse region and institution, united by a shared passion for advancing communications technology and the IEEE ComSoc mission. This program has already organised awareness sessions and technical events in its local communities, promoted ComSoc membership and resources via social media, and supported the formation of new IEEE ComSoc and collaborations between existing ones. The ambassadors helped amplify IEEE ComSoc’s voice and fostered a connected, international community of student leaders. The program has also helped build a talent pipeline for future ComSoc volunteers. The top-performing ambassadors will be awarded a travel grant to attend IEEE GLOBECOM 2025 in Taiwan.
IEEE ComSoc Student Tech Leadership Conferences (STLC) — to empower the future of ComSoc leadership. STLC is a transformative initiative to nurture student leadership and technical excellence across its global network. This program was designed to empower student members through regionally hosted conferences combining technical innovation, leadership development, and industry engagement. The call for hosts witnessed an enthusiastic response with 50+ applications received from ComSoc SBCs across all regions, and 14 chapters were selected to organise the first wave of IEEE ComSoc Student Tech Leadership Conferences, each tailored to their local contexts while aligning with the global vision of the program. Each selected conference integrated the core pillars of the STLC framework, which are Train, Technology, Lead, Engage, and Identify uniqueness. This initiative is backed by ComSoc funding of up to USD 2,500 per conference. The early outcomes of the program are a testament to its effectiveness: increased student engagement, stronger SBC visibility, and enhanced collaboration with other IEEE entities. The conferences promoted IEEE ComSoc membership and inspired students to take on active roles in shaping the future of communications technology.
Enhanced Mentoring Program
ComSoc has launched an Enhanced Mentoring Program (EMP) designed to nurture early-career members’ professional and research growth. This innovative initiative, spearheaded by the MSB, is being piloted through the ComSoc Kerala and Bangalore chapters, led by Prof. Manoj BS and Dr. Anindya Saha, respectively. It has already generated significant interest among young researchers and professionals across India. The pilot program targets early-career ComSoc professional members within preferably eight years of completing their Master’s or Ph.D. degree. Eligible applicants are R&D staff or industry professionals and early faculty members, with a preference given to candidates from industry. The selection process considered research potential, IEEE engagement, and academic or industrial contributions.
This pilot has a new model of mentorship. Unlike traditional short-term mentoring engagements, the EMP adopts a long-term, structured model spanning two years. Each selected mentee is paired with two mentors: one based in India and another, preferably, from outside India. This dual-mentorship model ensures participants benefit from local contextual guidance and global perspectives.
Mentors are senior IEEE ComSoc members, distinguished fellows, and renowned scholars — committed to monthly online interactions with mentees. In addition, the program mandates at least two weeks of physical visits per year at the Indian mentor’s institute, offering hands-on collaboration opportunities. This hybrid online and in-person mentoring model aims to create a sustainable bridge between academia, research labs, and industry. Eight mentees were selected out of ten approved candidates — four each for the Bangalore and Kerala chapters.
Looking Ahead
ComSoc will actively participate in the IEEE Student Branch Regional Meetings across the globe, where ComSoc wants to expand, by setting up booths at the fair and meeting with SBC chairs. ComSoc will actively pursue its presence in regional conferences like the Latincom 2025 conference. During the coming months, regions will foster the organization of various activities for students and young professionals. For example, at IEEE PIMRC, the mentoring session will be included for local students, creating multiple mentoring groups; we will be supporting the Jordanian Students and Young Professionals Congress (JSYP25) to increase the visibility of IEEE ComSoc. The Regional Awards nomination process and the ICT Student Innovation Contest 2025 call for proposals are also open, fostering recognition and student innovation across the regions, and there will be more focus on the underdeveloped countries with newer awards. The Future Network World Forum will also host a major student leadership conference. The MSB and regional boards are indeed working in tandem.
To close this informative article, it must be reiterated that the Board of Governors (BoG) of ComSoc emphasizes member services and activities that help increase member benefits. BoG supports all the above activities and new future initiatives to bring value-added services to ComSoc members. The future of IEEE ComSoc is brighter than ever. IEEE ComSoc focuses on advancing communication technologies, building a strong global family of professionals, and helping the new generation become global citizens.
Chapter Formation Process
We close this article by explaining how to create a new ComSoc Chapter. The chapter formation process is now implemented through the petition website. The online petition process automatically populates active IEEE and Society members of that particular Section eligible to sign the petition (Graduate Student Members and above) and electronically obtains the signatures and approvals. Reaching out to the Section before initiating the petition is recommended. The individual submitting the petition will need to use their IEEE Web Account to sign on. ComSoc encourages starting chapters and SBCs. The steps are simple and easy to follow to form a core team and gather support from the members in the geographic area or the school for SBC. In the case of SBC, a faculty advisor who is an IEEE & ComSoc member is required. The minimum requirements and steps are all provided in the link below.
Helpful Links
How to Join IEEE.
Online Petition, select the respective “Access Geographic Unit Petition Application”