As a student, especially one in the STEM world, the environment can feel overwhelming and leave someone uncertain on how to prepare for their future. Getting involved with organizations can introduce you to new students, professors and professionals all over the world to expose you to the large engineering network.
Familiar with the helpfulness of IEEE in one’s career, HKN Eta Chapter member Dr. Manuel Castro is equipped with a wealth of advice on how to excel. Dr. Castro, a professor of electronics technology at Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), is the faculty advisor for the IEEE-HKN Nu Alpha Chapter at UNED, the IEEE UNED student branch advisor, past president of the IEEE Education Society, and former director of IEEE Division VI. Dr. Castro has also won notable awards, such as the IEEE Nikola Tesla Award and Extraordinary Doctoral Award from the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
Dr. Castro has been a member of IEEE for more than 30 years and was inducted into IEEE-HKN in 2019. “The local and international relations you form with other IEEE-HKN Chapters, specifically with the members and advisors, give you a different and wider view of the technical and engineering scenes, along with new networking possibilities within an environment of excellence,” he says.
Dr. Castro has participated in a great number of activities with the organization and remarks how important collaboration is for students: “This professional organization gives you a headstart in collaboration techniques, especially on a worldwide scale, which sets you apart from other candidates. It is an honor to be part of the leading international, high-performance engineering association. It will set you up with a strong foundation of fellow engineers.”
Since IEEE-HKN is an honor society, it is beneficial to get involved with these leading professionals early on in one’s life, he says.
“Your involvement with IEEE-HKN will serve as a testament to your excellent achievements and will continue to serve as a cornerstone in your future professional career,” Dr. Castro says.
