NPSS is pleased to announce the Young Professional (YP) travel grant initiative. This travel grant is meant to enable 2-3 YPs/year to attend IEEE-sponsored events, which emphasize YP engagement in different milieus, preferably outside the immediate purview of NPSS.

This initiative recognizes the importance of multidisciplinary expertise and broader experiences needed to address today’s global problems and promotes opportunities for YPs to complement and augment their professional development.

Expected outcomes of this initiative

• Increase networking opportunities for interested YPs;
• Foster the next generation of leaders;
• Enhancement of NPSS value to YPs;
• Increase of NPSS engagement into IEEE-wide activities in broader interdisciplinary areas.

A list of suggested target conferences, generally held on a regular basis is provided below – others may be proposed by applicants as they become announced, together with a rationale for their choice.

Eligibility criteria

• Career stage consistent with the definition of YP.
• IEEE and NPSS member in good standing.
• A history of participation in NPSS activities (examples: event organizer, reviewer, chapters involvement, etc.)

Expectations from the successful candidates after event attendance

• The successful candidates will write a report for the NPSS newsletter including a description of the attendance impact, and any new activities resulting from the attendance, such as collaboration, ideas for new activities, etc.
• Provide an interview/give a presentation at a NPSS event, if so asked.

Application process

Interested applicants should provide:

• Membership number
• Statement of interest in participating in a selected conference/meeting, rationale for the attendance, and a description of how attendance of the meeting will benefit their professional career and strengthen volunteer activities.
• A short (< 2 min) video summarizing the above statement.
• A letter of reference from an established IEEE/NPSS member.
• Preliminary budget for event attendance — budget needs to follow the IEEE travel reimbursement rules (https://www.ieee.org/content/dam/ieee-org/ieee/web/org/travel-expense-reimbursement-guidelines.pdf)
• CV which also includes their IEEE-related volunteer history. Description of other volunteering can be included if relevant.

Application packages should be uploaded at https://forms.gle/YfA16YF92HDjn25s7

Application deadlines

Frequency of deadline: Twice a year: Dec 1st and May 31st

For 2026 only: applications are due on June 1, 2026. However under exceptional circumstances applications may be considered until July 1, 2026.

Definition of young professional

https://www.ieee.org/membership/qualifications#:~:text=IEEE%20Young%20Professionals%20(formerly%20GOLD)&text=Young%20Professionals%20are%20defined%20as,the%2015%2Dyear%20time%20span

List of suggested conferences

(dates are generally given for 2026, but they can be considered for subsequent years as well)

1. Sections Congress 2026 August 21-23, 2026, Glasgow, Scotland, followed by selected TAB volunteers
2. 2026 Power Africa (IEEE PES & IAS)
3. Similar ISV meetings in India and an East Asia/China.
4. IEEE International Conference on Wireless for Space and Extreme Environments (WiSEE 2026) hosted by KU Leuven in Belgium at the historic Irish College from Sept 14-16, 2026.
5. Flagship conferences from some of the other Div IV S/C where there is strong emphasis on YP or other relevant activities such as technical competitions, etc.
6. IEEE IAS Young Professionals Sessions. As part of the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS) Annual Meeting, there are YP-focused sessions highlighting career development, networking, and professional growth — Oct 4-8, 2026, Vancouver, BC, Canada (https://ias-am.ieee.org/2025/young-professionals/).
7. ICASSP NextGen Signal Processing Program. This track brings together students and young professionals with networking receptions, panels, and micro-mentoring sessions specifically designed for professional engagement (https://2026.ieeeicassp.org/nextgen-signal-processing/). 4-8 May 2026, Barcelona, Spain
8. IEEE IES SYP Congress: this is happening next summer in Brazil (maybe a bit out of the usual locations https://syp-congress.ieee-ies.org). SYP includes keynote talks, professional development workshops, and extensive networking among students and YP, young professionals, industry, and academic leaders. August 13-15, 2026
9. IEEE WIE International Leadership Summits (https://wie.ieee.org/conferences/international-leadership-summits/)

For more information please contact Vesna Sossi (Past-President), [email protected]