Letter from the Editor
By: Mandoye Ndoye
Happy New Year and Best Wishes for 2021!
I think we can all agree that 2020 was not kind to us and will not be missed. That said, this past year has taught us a few good things about ourselves. For one, we should all be now convinced that we are indeed a resilient community of educators that can rise to a myriad of challenges. We have managed to bootstrap ourselves out of a difficult situation by taking advantages of ECE-enabled tools and technologies to find effective ways to conduct labs and continue to deliver engaging lectures remotely. For the IEC community, a relevant byproduct of this past year’s experiences is that 2020 demonstrated that we are already in possession of the tools and technologies needed to efficiently operate as a “super department”. However, as was pointed out repeatedly in previous letters, the full realization of this common vision will necessitate more engagement through increased participation in workshops and more showcasing of activities at member institutions through this newsletter. Our active participation in the workshops is critical because they help raise the profile of our organization, which leads to greater opportunities for partnerships for all members and/or institutions.
In this issue, a spotlight on the Hampton University College of Engineering and Technology 25th Anniversary Celebration invites the IEC community to participate virtually in the workshops, panel discussions, and networking opportunities they have planned for this special occasion. Feature articles showcase two workshop series: iCASE whose goal is to generate the fruitful exchanges of ideas needed to create inter-instructional initiatives that enhance research and learning in Autonomous Systems at all our campuses and ECE@HSI: Women in ECE that discusses attracting, retaining, and supporting female engineering students. Corporate member representative Patrick Kane shares ideas on career paths, the future of ECE and more. Also, we included some new suggestions for IEC members to share useful online resources, or photos of students/faculties from their institutions participating in interesting activities, projects, competitions etc.
Finally, with the good news on vaccines, 2021 has been understandably welcomed with a lot of hope. We must however continue to stay vigilant in our efforts to fight this ongoing pandemic with its new variants. In other (more colorful) words, let us continue to stay safe lest that light at the end of the tunnel be from an approaching train.