In 2019, IEEE SIGHT established two awards to recognize individuals and SIGHT Groups that have made outstanding contributions to IEEE SIGHT and their local underserved community.
IEEE SIGHT Group of the Year Award
Description:
The SIGHT Group of the Year Award was established in 2019 to recognize IEEE SIGHT Groups committed to impacting their local community through the development or deployment of technology. The Groups selected have contributed to the SIGHT program by strengthening the SIGHT network, finding sustainable (economic, environmental, social) solutions, partnering with a local community entity, and completing all reporting requirements. The Groups consistently, actively strive to further the IEEE SIGHT mission.
The IEEE SIGHT Group of the Year Award has two categories – one for Student Branch SIGHT Groups and one for all other types of SIGHT Groups.
Group of the Year recipients will receive a certificate of appreciation and official recognition on the SIGHT website, social media platforms, the monthly Humanitarian Technologies (HT) newsletter, and in various printed and digital reports as appropriate.
Criteria:
- Submitted officer and event reporting via IEEE vTools for 2024
- Implemented a humanitarian technology and sustainable development project or a SIGHT Group activity initiative in 2024
- Completed all reporting requirements for any Tech4Good funded project the Group conducted
- Composed of at least 6 active IEEE members
- SIGHT Group Chair is an active IEEE member
- Conducted at least four Group meetings over the course of the year
- Group has been formed for at least one year
- Has not previously received the IEEE SIGHT Group of the Year Award for at least five years
Eligible groups will be evaluated based on their IEEE SIGHT volunteer participation and local community involvement, not on professional achievement. The award recipient will be recommended by the IEEE SIGHT Committee, and approved by the IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board (HTB) Programs Committee.
At least one letter of endorsement is required, and may be submitted by the nominator. Letters of endorsement should be in English, on letterhead, and include the title and signature of the endorser. Endorsements may be submitted by a representative of the SIGHT Group’s parent IEEE organizational unit, such as an IEEE Section, or a representative of an external organization that is familiar with the Group’s activities.
Conflict of interest limitation – Please note that if a member of the IEEE SIGHT Committee or the HTB Programs Committee belongs to a SIGHT Group nominated for the IEEE SIGHT Group of the Year Award, that Group shall be ineligible to receive the Award, per IEEE Policies. Any member of the IEEE SIGHT Committee or the HTB Programs Committee that nominates or provides an endorsement for a Group shall recuse themself from the decision process. Additionally, no member of the IEEE staff shall act as a nominator or endorser or be a candidate for any award covered by IEEE Policies 4.8 and 4.9.
All SIGHT Groups are required to submit event and officer reporting via IEEE vTools; the SIGHT Awards nomination form is required for Groups that would like to be considered for the IEEE SIGHT Group of the Year Award.
Past recipients of the IEEE SIGHT Group of the Year Award.
IEEE SIGHT Volunteer of the Year Award
Description:
The IEEE SIGHT Volunteer of the Year Award was established in 2019 to recognize a professional or student member of IEEE who has made an outstanding contribution to IEEE SIGHT and a local community through the development or deployment of technology. The individual consistently, actively strives to further the SIGHT mission in some, or all, of the following ways:
- Strengthening the SIGHT network through building relationships with local community entities;
- Acting as a leader within their SIGHT Group;
- Participating in sustainable (economic, environmental, social) activities in close partnership and coordination with a local community;
- Recruiting new SIGHT individual members or SIGHT Group members;
- Contributing to the overall SIGHT program through active participation on the IEEE SIGHT Committee.
Volunteer of the Year recipients will receive a certificate of appreciation and official recognition on the SIGHT website, social media platforms, the monthly Humanitarian Technologies (HT) newsletter, and in various printed and digital reports as appropriate.
Criteria:
- Active IEEE member
- Active participant in a SIGHT Group or past member of the IEEE SIGHT Committee (current Committee members are not eligible to receive the Award).
- Has not previously received the IEEE SIGHT Volunteer of the Year Award.
Self-nomination is allowed. Two letters of endorsement are required, and may be submitted by the nominator. Letters of endorsement should be in English, on letterhead, and include the title and signature of the endorser. Endorsements may be submitted by another member of the nominee’s SIGHT Group, an IEEE Member in a position of leadership, or a representative of an external organization that is familiar with the nominee’s contributions to IEEE SIGHT.
Candidates will be evaluated based on their IEEE SIGHT volunteer participation and local community involvement, not on professional achievement. The award recipient will be recommended by the IEEE SIGHT Committee, and approved by the IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board (HTB) Programs Committee.
Conflict of interest limitation – Please note that members of the same household may not nominate each other for this award. Current members of the IEEE SIGHT Committee, HTB, or the HTB Programs Committee shall be ineligible to receive the SIGHT Volunteer of the Year Award, per IEEE Policies. Any member of the IEEE SIGHT Committee or the HTB Programs Committee that acts as a nominator or endorser for an Award nominee, shall recuse themself from the decision process. Additionally, no member of the IEEE staff shall act as a nominator or endorser or be a candidate for any award covered by IEEE Policies 4.8 and 4.9.
Past recipients of the IEEE SIGHT Volunteer of the Year Award.
Raffle Prize
All nominees with a complete nomination form submitted by 16 March that meet the eligibility criteria, and are not selected as the Award recipients, will be entered in a raffle to win one of three IEEE SIGHT promotional item kits. Groups and individuals will be selected at random. Shipping limitations to certain countries may apply per IEEE Legal and Compliance policies on Sanction and Export Control Laws. Please see this page for more information.
How to Submit a Nomination
2024 SIGHT Award nominations will be accepted from 20 February 2025 – 16 March 2025. All nominations must be submitted via the appropriate process on the HT online platform.
Thank you for your nomination, and thank you for the work you are doing to further the SIGHT mission in your local community!