The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, better known as the IEEE, divided itself into several different organizations including the IEEE Computer Society. This society focuses on helping professionals and students learn better skills and keeps them informed on majors tech and computer science news. Before becoming a member of this organization, take a look at some of the functions and purposes of the society.

Curriculum Development

Curriculum development refers to the way in which colleges design programs and the types of courses featured within those programs. When the IEEE Computer Society first started, there were only a handful of computer science programs offered in the United States. It worked with those schools to design a curriculum that would prepare students for working different computer science fields, including programming and software development. It continues designing a computer science curriculum that will help students remain up to date on new changes and help them learn how to use new forms of technology.

Journal and Magazine Publishing

Like many other professional organizations, this one is also responsible for publishing multiple journals and magazines every year. It releases 13 different technical journals like Computer Graphics, Cloud Computing, Intelligent Systems and Internet Computing. These journals cover more in-depth topics and use technical jargon that not everyone can understand. It also releases 20 peer-reviewed and scholarly journals every year, including Transactions on Computers, Transactions on Cloud Computing, Transactions on Mobile Computing and Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems. Many of these journals and magazines are available online and through its digital library.

Professional Conferences

One of the primary functions of the IEEE Computer Society is the creation of conferences designed to help IT and computing specialists. Though it offers a number of conferences, it also offers symposiums that let members learn more about a new topic or field of study and workshops that teach attendants new methods and techniques. According to its official website, it will also help other smaller organizations host conferences too. Those organizations can request financial or technical help. The Computer Society will agree to send technicians to the event, take on some of the financial costs of running the event or sponsor the event and pay all costs.

Digital Library

The CS Digital Library, also known as the CSDL, is a digital library that makes it easy for students and professionals to find the information they need. Each of the magazines and journals that it publishes are available through the library, including current editions and issues released in the past. You can even read articles from the first issue of each one. It also contains letters and articles published by others. Members of the society receive free access to all features of the digital library.

Achievement Awards

The IEEE Computer Society is also responsible for handing out achievement awards every year that highlight and recognize the top people in the computer science industry. The Seymour Cray Computer Engineering Award is just one of the technical awards that it hands out to those who demonstrated proficiency in the computer science field. It also hands out the Richard E. Merwin Distinguished Service Award and others to those who did a great service to the industry. The Taylor L. Booth Education Award is one example of the education awards it passes out to those working in colleges and training programs.

Winning an award from the society is an impressive feat, but this large organization does more than just recognized the brightest talents in the field. The IEEE Computer Society also publishes magazines and journals, maintains a digital library, hosts conferences and assists in curriculum development.

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