Dr. Samir A. Al-Baiyat (above, right) indicated that this year the conference has taken a major step in satisfying the demands of the delegates from industry by arranging ten invited speakers to provide the perspective from the work place. In addition to that the technical program is interlaced with a number of keynote speeches. The conference is comprised of keynote speeches, invited talks and technical sessions. The program highlights not only the unity aspects of the modern computer and information technology but also it unifies the interests of academicians, and practicing engineers.

This year, the response to the Call for Papers was overwhelming. We received 175 papers out of which 102 papers were accepted. The final technical program includes 83 papers; some papers were not included because of inability of the speakers to present their work. The program is spread over 18 sessions. Four sessions are on power systems, four on wireless communications, one on engineering educations and one on e-systems and applications. The remaining sessions are on digital signal processing, antennas and propagation, and electronics and communications.

The papers in the program cover 9 tracks. The technical program committee comprising more than 50 international leaders in the field had the difficult task of critically reviewing the submitted papers. Each paper was assigned (at least) three reviewers chosen from the TPC and from academicians and practicing engineers. Above all, we thank all the authors who chose IEEE-GCC as the appropriate venue for publishing their research. It is their commitment that keeps the conference alive and exciting. We hope that all of you will find the conference technically rewarding, and will also find time to catch up with your colleagues.

for the creation of innovative methodologies and imaginative resources which help students in enhancing thinking and problem-solving skills.

Professor Burton's presentation was entitled: Quasi Interactive Video. His talk focused on the notion that Quasi Interactive Video material has proved to be a very effective teaching tool for first year electronic classes and production of other courses is well underway. Many students today are very visual and prefer to view material rather than read it, they love to watch TV. The videos follow a TV format and are produced in such a way as to give the viewer the feeling that he or she is actually in the room with the presenter. Professor Burton's talk discussed the effectiveness of the videos as a teaching tool for all students, but particularly first year and the international cohort. The potential for use in distance education and for marketing and retention is also considered. Finally the future direction of video production at RMIT is discussed, which the presenter passionately believes could transform university education, especially in first and second year.

Professor Belski's talk was entitled: Four Screens Representation of Electronic Systems: Seven Years Experience. His talk suggested that students of electronic circuit design often overlook important aspects of linear circuit performance. Their knowledge of the joint effects of steady-state and transient responses needs improved unification. Mathematical abstractions in transient analysis help students to perform routine algebraic processes, but can obscure engineering issues and trends. Our experience has shown that the various aspects of circuit response are learned more effectively when incorporated into a standard overall four-screen system representation. This representation gives, at the top, the factorized transfer function H(s), and beside it the pole-zero plot. Below these are the asymptotic Bode plots of magnitude and phase, with a graph of the time response to a unit step on the right. Focusing students' attention on this picture has been found to yield improvements in understanding and design capabilities. It also yields interesting surprises, which enliven the learning experience and it forms the basis for exploratory approaches. Questionnaire responses and test performances confirm the effectiveness of the four screens in improving learning.

Iouri introduced the Four-Screen Representation of electronic system to students of RMIT in 2000. During his talk Iouri will share the outcomes of its usage, student perceptions and achievements over the last seven years. New web-based Four-Screens simulator will also be introduced. For more information about 4Screens, go to: http://4screens.sece.rmit.edu.au

Details and forms for each award can be found at: http://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/3246/132238

The first technical presentation, “Software tools for microwave research, design and education: Microwave Office, Ansoft Designer and WIPL-D Microwave”, held by D. Tosic and M. Potrebic from ETF Belgrade, gave a thorough and detailed analysis of the three state-of-the-art softwares for microwave engineering. The final emphasis was on the educational component of the softwares. It was stressed that the two most important educational components of these softwares are 1. extensive set of teaching examples based on the widely used textbooks and 2. a comprehensive review of microwave circuit basics.

This project will provide a track for students from around the globe to share ideas on how education in the computer technology and engineering fields benefits society at the Interactive Computer Learning Conference. The student track attendees will have the opportunity to interact with 300 professionals from over 50 countries and allow for further exchange of information between students and professionals on an international level. The ICL conference will be held 27-29 September in Villach, Austria.

1. Majority of growth is occurring outside the US but leadership is US-dominated.
2. IEEE finances are good – record surpluses. Some tension exists between publications and membership since most income now arises from publications.
3. The Board is considering how best to become more involved in China.
4. Revenue is centralized, primarily in electronic products. Expenses are also centralized. Resources need to be allocated to societies etc. The allocation algorithm has changed and smaller societies are seeing reduced resources. Some (not Ed Soc) are facing bankruptcy in the near future. The Ed Soc is seeing substantially increased charges for IEE infrastructure expenses. The question is how to avoid shifting the financial crisis from one set of societies to another.
5. Some basic questions are being asked: Should societies continue to exist? Should parts of IEEE be spun out?

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• Paper Submission Deadline: September 30, 2006
• Acceptance Notifications: November 23, 2006
• Final Camera-Ready paper: January 3, 2007