MGA Innovation Award

This award is to recognize an individual or a team whose accomplishment/project is judged to be the most innovative and effective in fulfilling one or more of the goals of Member and Geographic Activities (MGA).
 
The accomplishments of the candidate(s) should be of "significant performance" and should have made a distinguishing contribution to IEEE. The focus should be on volunteering for IEEE, MGA, or its organizational units, not on professional achievement.
 
THE 2023 NOMINATION PERIOD FOR THIS AWARD IS CLOSED - NEXT PERIOD TO BE ANNOUNCED IN 2024

Examples of previous MGA Award recipient contributions

A few examples of the contributions for which past MGA Innovation Award recipients have been recognized include:
  • For the creation, development, and implementation of the IEEEXtreme Programming Contest, a worldwide programming contest in which teams of students compete over a 24-hour time span to solve a set of programming problems; increased membership; increased member engagement by using social media and online tools to inspire students to participate and interact in real time.
  • For developing the Global Integrated Network of IEEE (GINI) to provide increased value of IEEE membership to students in the Region, improve relations between the Student Branches and the Section/Region, smooth transition of Branch officers, provide networking opportunities, increase membership, revitalize existing Branches, and establish new Branches.
  • For outstanding efforts towards IEEE student engagement in Latin America through the development of an operations manual for Student Branches, written in Spanish, which was a solution to the challenge of answering the frequently asked questions from Student Branch officers; the manual provides a simple, consistent interface to members and prospective members, and has been used in training in meetings across Latin America.
  • For initiating a Summer Camp Program to boost the research momentum in related disciplines while attracting young talents for advanced researches, effectively promoting the technical advancement and innovation in the related areas; introduced innovative ways to improve the visibility of the Section and assist Section members with membership fees; shares ideas and best practices with other Sections.

Eligibility

Requirements are that the candidate:
  •     Must be an IEEE member in good standing
  •     Cannot be a member of the MGA Board or MGA Awards and Recognition Committee
  •     Must not be a past recipient of the MGA Innovation Award
  •     Award must be approved within five years of the initiation of the project or event
  •     Nomination must be endorsed by two IEEE members

Selection and Award Instrument

  • One (1) MGA Innovation Award will be presented annually
  • Recipient will be selected by the MGA Awards and Recognition Committee and approved by the MGA Board at the November MGA Board Meeting
  • Nominators and recipient will be notified after the MGA Board Meeting
  • Recipient will receive a plaque suitably inscribed, attesting to the accomplishment(s) made by the individual, and a US$1,000 cash prize

More information

Please email MGA Awards at mga-awards@ieee.org if you have questions about the MGA Innovation Award or the MGA Awards Process.