Dr. Stephanie Gillespie reflects on her three years as EPICS in IEEE Committee Chair and her hopes for the future of this vibrant program
EPICS in IEEE’s milestone 15th anniversary saw the program hit new heights and achieve greater reach than ever before. Below, EPICS in IEEE’s outgoing Committee Chair Stephanie Gillespie, Ph.D. shares highlights of the program’s past three years under her leadership, her hopes for EPICS in IEEE’s next exciting chapter, and the aspects of her role that she found most inspiring.
How did you first get connected to EPICS in IEEE?
Dr. Gillespie: I joined IEEE in 2011 as an undergraduate at the University of Miami, FL and served as a student leader in our HKN chapter. After earning my Ph.D. in Electrical & Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, I accepted a faculty position at Arizona State University (ASU) and began working with ASU’s EPICS program, which embedded service learning opportunities in the student experience. In 2020, I was invited to join the EPICS in IEEE Committee, where I was excited to lead a working group that created protocols for monitoring and evaluating the program’s metrics and impact. Since being appointed to the role of EPICS in IEEE Committee Chair for the start of 2022, I’ve been able to continue assessing our impact as well as focus on streamlining the program, improving our processes for funding and reviewing proposals, and amplifying our story-telling efforts to encourage prospective participants and donors.
Please share some of EPICS in IEEE’s highlights over the past three years.
Dr. Gillespie: This year, I was excited to expand our partnerships with other IEEE organizational units and societies and help them achieve their goal of benefiting humanity while participating in positive service learning activities. These opportunities are a great way to further engage students, senior IEEE members, and young professionals alike in IEEE societies and promote awareness of EPICS in IEEE among a new audience that might not have been as familiar.
Over the past three years, we were thrilled to see the number of EPICS in IEEE proposal applicationsnearly double and to award project funding to teams from several countries that had never participated in the program before. Internally, we worked to streamline our processes for collecting data and follow-up information on each project as well as boost our story-telling efforts to both help donors connect with our activities as well as inspire the next round of students applying for project funding. We’ve also had the opportunity to partner with multiple IEEE conferences and we recently initiated a formal travel grant program that will enable eligible student participants to travel to an IEEE conference and present on their project – an experience that will help strengthen their connection to IEEE, grow their professional network, and boost their confidence. Overall, we’re thrilled to have found new ways to connect with and engage young engineers who are looking for ways to build their resumé and make a difference in their community.
Stephanie Gillespie helping to boost the EPICS in IEEE story telling though video interviews and in person interviews with EPICS in IEEE students.
Did you have a favorite EPICS in IEEE project during your three-year term?
Dr. Gillespie: It’s hard to pick just one project because all of our project teams are so impressive. However, at IEEE’s International Humanitarian Technology Conference this November, I had the chance to meet faculty member Elizabeth Vidal and students from the Peru-based “Soft Robotic Glove for Fine Motor Rehabilitation and Task-Specific Training” EPICS in IEEE project. The students demonstrated their prototype, and it was incredibly inspiring to have Elizabeth join myself and other EPICS leaders on a panel to discuss the important role that connecting with a community partner plays in a project’s success. It’s always exciting to see the impact we have on students and communities around the globe.
What challenges did the program encounter over the past three years?
Dr. Gillespie: With the increased number of proposals we received from student teams around the world came growing pains we never had before. We’ve had to implement new processes to address that growth, including bringing more volunteers into EPICS to help us with the application review process to ensure timeliness and consistency across all reviews. Future leaders will also need to address the growing use of generative technology like CHAT GPT in the application process to help ensure that the insights shared are original and based on the project team’s actual experiences.
Finally, what’s your favorite aspect of EPICS in IEEE and your hopes for the program in the future?
Dr. Gillespie: Based on our ever-expanding pool of successful projects, I’d love to see the program be able to share success from one project to another – for example, a team applying the technology another group created to their challenge and building on it by adapting the initial solution to the needs of their community. Overall, I hope to see the program (and our volunteer-driven organization) continue to grow, forge more partnerships, and benefit even more communities.
During my three years as Committee Chair, I’ve loved seeing the global network of students working together through IEEE to benefit their community. I’m excited that so many students around the world had the opportunity to engage with their community and truly consider the needs of their stakeholders; there are so many ways in which those positive experiences can trickle through their professional and personal lives. Looking ahead, new leaders bring new ideas, and I’m excited for the future of EPICS in IEEE and the continued growth of this outstanding program with new leadership.
Stephanie Gillespie engaging with student team members at Rowan University.
For More Information
For more information on EPICS in IEEE or the opportunity to participate in service-learning projects, visit https://epics.ieee.org/. “EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) in IEEE” is an initiative which provides opportunities for students to work proactively with both engineering professionals, technological innovation, and local organizations/partners to develop solutions that address global community challenges.
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