Questions for Candidate: Maike Luiken (Miller)
Question #1:
What are your priorities for the Region?
Answer:
My priorities are to enhance our members’ experience; to empower our volunteers; to support our sections, to engage the public, and to continue strengthening our IEEE organization. Representing the interests of the IEEE Canada members, I will make our voice and concerns heard nationally and internationally.
Question #2:
What is the major challenge that is facing IEEE-Canada in the next five years and how would you go about addressing it?
Answer:
A major challenge is the changing needs of our IEEE members; access to knowledge is no longer the major attraction for being an IEEE member. As the premier technical organization in the world, how will we best contribute to the professional development, career enhancement and career advancement of our members during the varied stages of their careers? I would address these needs with our sections through the building of professional networks, providing interdisciplinary experiences and training opportunities.
Question #3:
What is your feeling about strengthening IEEE Canada's relationship with employers and how might we achieve this?
Answer:
IEEE Canada has very good relationships with and support from a number of employers. Engaging companies and businesses through invitations to professional, educational and social events, providing opportunities to make presentations, arranging for tours of such companies and organizations – all of these help to grow these relationships and enrich the professional networks for our members.
Question #4:
If elected, this is a six years commitment. Please, explain how would you organize your time between the very demanding IEEE volunteer responsibilities including travels and your day job?
Answer:
My plan is to retire in the next 18 months from my current position as Dean at Lambton College; possibly continuing with some consulting activities. So, my day job will be very flexible; allowing me to give priority to my IEEE volunteer commitments. Before accepting this nomination I asked three past Region 7 Directors about the demands of this position; hence, I am well aware of the level of commitment that is required to successfully serve as IEEE Canada president-elect, as president, as past-president.
Question #5:
In these tough economic times, what changes would you initiate to help the lot of the working engineer?
Answer:
Our focus needs to be on the engineers in transition and new grads with no entry position. During the last economic downturn I helped organize many job training events for our engineers in transition. This is only a part answer: locally, we need to provide educational and professional training and strong networking opportunities with employers in the sections. And, as economic downturns seem to happen rather frequently, we need to maintain these measures, so that these support systems remain in place.
Thank you for your consideration.
