A collaboration between University of Arkansas electrical engineering students and their peers around the world has led to the creation of a new chapter of a group designed to encourage more women to pursue technical disciplines.

The organization is called Women In Engineering, and is a society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

The local chapter's formation in December was inspired by a presentation from two Tunisian graduate students.

Titled "The Importance of Women in Engineering," the presentation by Yasmine Chelly and Yosra Saddoud emphasized the importance of supporting women in engineering and efforts of the Tunisian chapter of Women in Engineering to support these women.

"The visibility of women in engineering also encourages young girls to pursue scientific and technological studies and inspire them to get involved in STEM fields," Saddoud said.

The University of Arkansas chapter of Women in Engineering will be mentored by Silke Spiesshoefer, a clinical assistant professor of electrical engineering. To learn more about joining, email sspiessh@uark.edu.

Chelly and Saddoud made their presentation as part of a student-led program designed to provide professional development, promote diversity and bring an international perspective to their education.

The Graduate Electrical Engineering Areas of Research and Specialization program, GEARS for short, is a monthly presentation series initiated by the IEEE student RSO at the University of Arkansas.  The series features graduate student speakers from partner universities around the world. This year's partners include students from the University of Arkansas Electrical Engineering Department, the Tunisian National Engineering School of Sfax, and the National University of Colombia.

Students use teleconferencing to host a monthly panel in which each college presents ongoing research projects. The collaborative effort began in the fall 2017 semester, exposing students to a variety of fields of electrical engineering including power electronics, electrical systems, and biomedical electronics while demonstrating global research practices, cultural differences between education systems and the diversity of professionals in electrical engineering.  

GEARS is hosted by the Power Electronics Society student group. It meets the second Wednesday of each month in the Electrical Engineering Student Lounge, BELL 3008.

Paul Swearingen, president of the Power Electronics Society's local chapter, said "GEARS has been a great opportunity for me to experience the research side with presentations from graduate students around the world."

Robert Saunders, assistant department head for electrical engineering, praised the progress the program has already made.

"I am excited the students in the department are taking a lead in this monthly collaboration between universities around the world," Saunders said. "The start of a WIE affinity group is just one example of how GEARS has changed the U of A for the better."