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Dr. Khaled B. Letaief, Provost of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), has been elected President of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Communications Society. Based on a vote by members in more than 160 countries, Dr. Letaief won the contested race against a prominent professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.
He will serve as IEEE Communications Society President for a two-year term beginning in 2018.
The United States-based IEEE is recognized as the world’s largest technical professional organization and boasts over 420,000 members across the globe. The institute publishes a third of the world’s technical literature in electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics and helps determine international standards that underpin many of today’s telecommunications and information technology products and services. It has also sponsored more than 1,600 conferences in 95 countries with Dr. Letaief playing a key role in bringing the IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC) to Qatar in 2016.
The IEEE Communications Society, for which the HBKU Provost will serve as president, is one of the largest IEEE societies, founded in 1952 and comprised of industry professionals, engineers, and academics from around the world who share a common interest in advancing all communications technologies. Dr. Letaief commented on the achievement: “I’m very pleased and excited to be elected as president of the IEEE Communications Society while based in Qatar and while provost of HBKU and a proud member of the Qatar Foundation community. It is indeed very gratifying to see a member of HBKU and Qatar Foundation to play an important role in shaping the future of IEEE by advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity.
“Earlier this year was the first time a major IEEE conference was held in the Middle East and through my role as president, I hope to continue to build key relationships in the region, highlight local achievements, and help facilitate important conversations on developments in communications technologies across the world.”
Prior to joining HBKU in September 2015, Dr. Letaief served in a variety of esteemed posts such as Dean of Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Director of Huawei Innovation Laboratory, and Director of the Hong Kong Telecom Institute of Information Technology.
Dr. Letaief added: “Through its research activities, academic offerings, and publishing, HBKU aims to anticipate and respond to local, regional, and global needs. In many ways, I recognize a synergy between the work of IEEE and HBKU, especially in how the university prioritizes exploring meaningful discourse at the cutting edge of innovation. In my new role, I hope to invite more HBKU scientists and academics into global discourse in the science and technology fields and continue to highlight Qatar's role in shaping future developments.”
To learn more about research being conducted at HBKU, please visit www.hbku.edu.qa.