The Bridge - Issue 2, 2020 - 6

COVID-19

HKN Chapters Meet the Challenges of COVID-19
with Technology and Ingenuity
HKN students worldwide rapidly shifted gears to meet
the needs of their members during this unprecedented
crisis. They scheduled online meetings, held virtual social
events, asked for resources to complete community service
projects and are inducting new members using the new
Remote Induction Ceremony deployed by headquarters
in early April.
Our students are living up to the values that define all
HKN inductees: Scholarship, Character and Attitude. The
leadership experience and professional development skills
they gain by being members and officers of HKN Chapters
have served them well as they navigate the new waters in
which the world finds itself. We are proud to share with you
a few of the many innovative programs our Chapters have
developed to maintain the HKN community and live up to
their commitment.
The Mu Nu Chapter at Politecnico di Torino (Turin,
Italy) moved operations online quickly when the Italian
Government imposed a nationwide lockdown. Not being
able to have weekly chapter meetings, the Chapter switched
to virtual meetings on Webex, setting the example for US
Chapters, many of which would soon find themselves in
the same position. Mu Nu used the meetings to discuss
further steps they took and how to get the most interaction
during these difficult times. Last but not least, they used
some of the meeting time to have fun together. The officers
held a trivia game hosted on Kahoot, so new members
could learn, in a fun way, a little bit about HKN and Mu Nu
Chapter history. The members appreciated the idea, which
proved to be fun and a fairly easy team-building activity.
The Beta Eta Chapter at North Carolina State
University (Raleigh, USA) developed programs to
continue its popular tutoring sessions and to inform
underclassmen about IEEE-HKN and all the benefits society
membership offers. First, HKN Beta Eta moved its tutoring
sessions online. Thanks to Zoom, the Chapter has been
able to keep its twice-weekly tutoring sessions going for the
entire 8-week period it was scheduled to run. By having a
master Zoom meeting with individual breakout rooms for
different classes, all students in 100- and 200-level ECE
courses received much needed help in these difficult times.
According to the Chapter's activity report: "Although it was
very difficult to switch tutoring to a virtual event, the students
who are attending don't have many other resources that

THE BRIDGE

can help them. This makes HKN Beta Eta much more
important for the university now than it ever has been."
About 70 students were helped. Beta Eta held an "HKN
Casual Sophomore Workshop," using Zoom. Upperclassmen
presented slides on their specialty area of study within the
ECE department to underclassmen who are interested
in ECE or have just matriculated into the department.
Presenters gave an in-depth description of classes from
their own personal experiences, offering an honest look at
the department and future job and academic opportunities
for ECE students.
The Mu Chapter at the University of California
(Berkeley, USA) moved its student-led, one-credit course
online as most courses at Berkeley transitioned rapidly to
an online lecture format. Almost all students registered
for the in-person class tuned in, remained engaged, and
asked questions, over voice and through chat. The class is
administered by seven members of the Mu Chapter and
is intended to provide an overview of the different paths
and specializations within the EE/CS department and
inform students' course selections in future semesters.
The biggest challenge faced was adapting the interactive
component. Members addressed this in two ways: first,
committee members are active in live chat during class so
individual questions can be answered without interrupting
the presenter's flow. Second, members adapted interactive
components of the class to distance learning, either
by providing "soft labs" (for example, simulation-based
activities), or by doing live demonstrations. As an example
of the latter, the Chapter used a simulation program for an
activity on digital circuits that runs on a legacy version of
Java, which some students could not run on their personal
computers. In the absence of having campus computers
available to run the simulation, one member set up the
program ahead of time and did a live demo of the activity,
pausing to encourage student feedback. The course is
typically graded based on a combination of attendance and
short written assignments. Standards of grading have been
maintained, but in light of the consequences of campus
closure, the Chapter opted for more leniency in grading.
The Chapter has granted extensions or excused absences
on a case-by-case basis. Fortunately, this has not been
affecting student engagement: attendance has been
consistently good, and the quality of written assignments
is excellent, according to one of the facilitators.

The IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu Board of Governors

cordially invites the members of the

2020 Graduating Class, Family and Friends
TO THE

IEEE-HKN Online

Graduation
CELEBRATION

Saturday, 30 May 2020

2 p.m. (EDT)

COMMENCEMENT REMARKS TO BE GIVEN BY

Dr. Henry Samueli, Iota Gamma Chapter

Co-founder of Broadcom Corporation, Chairman of the Board of Broadcom Inc.,
Marconi Society Prize and Fellowship Winner and HKN Eminent Member
Graduates, we ask that you submit a photo of yourself so that
you can be a part of the Virtual Graduation Procession.
PHOTOS ARE DUE BY 20 MAY 2020.

HKN.ORG

https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/2313379/BB3E620FAF99E73E91BCFA3A33321C6C?partnerref=BridgeHKN http://www.broadcomfoundation.org/bio-dr-henry-samueli/ https://hkn.ieee.org/ https://hkn.ieee.org/

The Bridge - Issue 2, 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Bridge - Issue 2, 2020