This August, IEEE will bring together volunteer leaders from across the globe for a significant leadership gathering. For the first time, the inaugural IEEE Societies and Councils (S/C) Congress will be co-located with IEEE Sections Congress 2026, creating a unique opportunity for technical, geographic, and organizational leaders to collaborate, exchange ideas, and help shape the future of IEEE.
Hosted in Glasgow, Scotland, the combined events reflect IEEE’s growing commitment to a “One IEEE” approach—strengthening collaboration between its technical communities and geographic organizational units to better serve members worldwide and advance technology for the benefit of humanity.
The new Societies and Councils Congress is more than the launch of another leadership meeting. It represents the realization of a key initiative identified during the development of the IEEE Technical Activities 2025–2030 Strategic Plan. Recognizing the increasing need for collaboration across IEEE’s technical communities, the strategic plan called for a dedicated forum where Society and Council leaders could come together to exchange ideas, share successful practices, address common challenges, and identify opportunities to strengthen IEEE’s global impact.
Societies and Councils Congress Debut
According to Dalma Novak, Past VP of IEEE Technical Activities, who championed the initiative during her leadership of IEEE Technical Activities, the Congress was envisioned as an annual strategic gathering that empowers volunteer leaders to learn from one another while helping shape the future direction of IEEE Technical Activities.
As Novak explains, bringing together experienced leaders from across IEEE’s technical communities creates opportunities to share best practices, strengthen leadership pathways, and develop strategic solutions that enhance the member experience across the organization.
With the theme “Leading Innovation: Shaping the Future,” the IEEE Societies and Councils Congress will take place immediately following Sections Congress on 24–25 August 2026. The program has been designed to balance strategic discussions with practical leadership development through role-specific breakout sessions, interactive workshops, and collaborative roundtable discussions.
Participants, including Society Presidents and Presidents-Elect, Division Directors, Technical Activities Board leaders, Society and Council/Committee volunteers, IEEE staff, and invited IEEE leaders, will explore strategies to strengthen Society operations, improve volunteer engagement, enhance member value, and prepare IEEE’s technical communities for future opportunities. Sessions will focus on conferences, publications, education, membership, standards, emerging technologies, governance, and operational excellence while encouraging participants to exchange ideas that can be adapted across multiple organizational units.
A central objective of the Congress is to foster collaboration among Society, Council, and Technical Activities leaders, provide a forum to discuss challenges and opportunities, identify solutions that enhance member experiences and organizational effectiveness, and strengthen leadership pathways throughout IEEE Technical Activities.
The decision to co-locate the inaugural Societies and Councils Congress with IEEE Sections Congress 2026 reflects IEEE’s recognition that many of its most successful initiatives depend upon close collaboration between technical and geographic leadership.
While IEEE Societies and Councils connect members through specialized technical disciplines, IEEE Sections build vibrant local communities that support professional development, networking, education, humanitarian activities, public policy engagement, and outreach. Programs such as conferences, technical chapters, continuing education, STEM initiatives, entrepreneurship, Young Professionals, and Student Branch activities often succeed because these communities work together.
Holding both leadership events in the same venue creates new opportunities for technical leaders to better understand the needs of IEEE’s geographic units while enabling Section leaders to discover resources, expertise, and programs available through IEEE’s technical communities. The result is expected to strengthen communication, encourage new partnerships, and foster more integrated volunteer initiatives across the organization.
One IEEE in Action
Running from 21–23 August 2026, IEEE Sections Congress returns under the theme “Leading Technology for Global Good.” Held every three years, the event serves as IEEE’s flagship leadership conference for geographic units, bringing together hundreds of volunteer leaders representing more than 300 IEEE Sections across all ten IEEE Regions.
According to Costas Stasopoulos, IEEE Sections Congress Committee Chair, the Congress is designed to inspire volunteers while providing opportunities to collaborate on solutions that amplify IEEE’s ability to address global challenges through technology. The program combines keynote presentations, leadership development workshops, networking opportunities, and interactive discussions that equip attendees with practical tools they can take back to their local Sections.
Celia Desmond, IEEE Sections Congress Program Committee Chair, notes that Section Chairs often lead diverse teams of volunteers without traditional management authority, making peer learning especially valuable. By bringing together hundreds of experienced volunteer leaders and IEEE staff, Sections Congress provides an environment where participants can exchange successful ideas, discover organizational resources, and build relationships that continue long after the event concludes.
Similarly, Antonio Luque, Vice President of IEEE MGA (2025 term), emphasizes that Sections Congress gives volunteers the opportunity to influence IEEE’s future through recommendations developed by grassroots leaders worldwide. Those recommendations help guide future priorities while ensuring that local communities remain central to IEEE’s strategic direction.
Together, the two Congresses offer an extensive leadership development program covering nearly every aspect of IEEE volunteer engagement. Participants can explore topics ranging from governance, volunteer management, elections, committee leadership, financial sustainability, and strategic planning to membership development, chapter vitality, student and Young Professional engagement, industry collaboration, Women in Engineering, publishing, conferences, standards development, humanitarian technologies, climate initiatives, artificial intelligence, branding, communications, and public policy.
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