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by John Vasko -
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Student members of AIChE form the foundation of the Association's future. There are more than 165 AIChE student chapters internationally and new ones starting every month. Getting involved with AIChE as a student is a great way to learn more about what direction you'd like to take your career through participating in conferences, meetings, and competitions.
Also, many students are paired up with young professional and senior members as mentors via the Ambassador Program. To learn more about how student chapters and their regional conferences work, I sat down with Volunteer Relations Professional, June Lee.
John: How are student regional conferences set up?
June: Domestic Student chapters are currently divided into 9 regions. Usually one, occasionally two, schools from each region will host the regional conference which takes place around March to April each year.John: How are host schools chosen and what are their responsibilities?
June: The host selection process varies depending on the region; some maintain a rotational schedule that is set up years in advance, and some solicit hosts from year to year.Host schools are responsible for planning and coordinating the entire conference, from date selection, to booking locations, setting up a conference website, scheduling the program, and making arrangements for the competitions.
John: Is there anyone who helps the schools through the process?
June: Each region has a Regional Liaison (a professional member - mostly chapter advisors within the region) who will guide them through the planning process.The Regional Liaison is also responsible for selecting the host chapters.
YPs Talking about ChEnected at the Southwest Regional AIChE ConferenceJohn: What happens at regional student conferences?
June: The main attractions of the regional conferences are the Chem-E-Car and Paper Competitions. Winners of the regional Chem-E-Car competitions qualify to compete in the National equivalent competition, which takes place during the Annual Student Conference.For the Paper Competition, the 1st and 2nd place regional winners qualify to compete in the National Competition. For the Chem-E-Car Competition, that number varies from 2 to 5 teams, depending on the size of the region.
Aside from these competitions, the regional conferences generally kick off with registration and a welcome mixer on Friday in the late afternoon and evening. Saturday starts with breakfast. After this, the workshops and Chem-E-Car Post Competition take place, followed by lunch. The actual Chem-E-Car competition takes place in the afternoon, followed by a formal banquet in the evening.
John: Are AIChE staff or other members involved?
June: We try to have at least one staff attend each regional as a show of AIChE support. If schedules permit, we do workshops to promote membership, or attend student chapter leadership meetings.YP (young professional member) involvement started in the last couple of years. To help with the growth of this group, we felt it was important for young professional members to reach out to the student members. And it's also beneficial to the students to hear from recent graduates about their experiences and career choices. Six regional conference had a YP representation this year!
Read our recent posts about the 2011 Northeast Student Conference, Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, and the Western Regional Conference.
Here's a slide show from the Northeast Student Conference: