On 9 October 2023, the IEEE VTS Chapters Committee held a chapter chairs training event, sited in a venue adjacent to VTC2023-Fall in Hong Kong. The training was open to VTS chapter chairs from Region 10, with travel and accommodations funded by VTS.

The event consisted of a full day of informational sessions and interactive personal growth-related discussions, with a networking dinner afterwards. In addition, the generous organizers of VTC2023-Fall granted our attendees free access to the workshops, reception and lunch on the first day of their conference. And our group got the chance to meet with PhD students, as well as renowned professors and educators, at the VTC2023-Fall evening reception.

The decision to hold this event alongside VTC2023-Fall was driven by the great and recent increase in VTS membership in Region 10, which encompasses Asia and the southern Pacific. The location in Hong Kong enabled large in-person participation from all over China and India, the latter in which VTS saw tremendous membership growth this year.

Participation on the day, however, was reduced due a typhoon; some attendees were delayed several hours at the airport, waiting for transportation to the hotel, a mere 6km away. But in spite of these difficulties, the facilities and food services were superb, and we had plenty of food and drinks all day long.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank IEEE volunteers for providing ready-to-use world-class presentations, on subjects including the history of IEEE and VTS; Robert's Rules of Order; vTools and IEEE Organizational Units (OU) training; and IEEE Educational Activities.

Also included in the program was an interactive communications activity (using a smartphone QR reader and Morse code messaging), a video guide on public speaking, an open session where we shared our experiences working with VTS chapters, and a feedback session that we hope will strengthen our informal communications going forward.

Having received such positive feedback so far, we plan to hold similar events co-located with future VTS events in other IEEE Regions. Please note that some IEEE Sections are able to provide general vTools and OU training locally, so feel free to contact yours directly.

Overall, the F2F concept was well-received and appreciated. Investing in our volunteers proved to be very worthwhile in preparing our next leaders for the near future.

Many thanks to all participants, and we hope to meet you again soon! Thanks also to Pivotal Commware Inc. for their in-kind contribution to both IEEE and VTS of Alon Newton’s time and efforts in bringing this training event to fruition.

IEEE VTS Website