This article opens the series of interviews with the Officers of the IEEE ComSoc Member and Global Activities (MGA) Council for the term 2026–2027, which is published every month in the Global Communications Newsletter.

In this series of interviews, I introduce the Vice-President and the six Directors on the MGA Council (namely: Member Services, Industry Outreach, and AP, NA, LA, EMEA Regions), as well as the three Chairs of the Women in Communications Engineering (WICE), Young Professionals (YP), and Sister Societies Standing Committees. Additionally, I will introduce the Chair of the Communications History Committee, which is aligned with the Technical and Educational Activities Council. In each interview, they present their sector activities and plans one by one.

In this issue, I interview Abbas Jamalipour, IEEE ComSoc Vice President for Members and Global Activities (VP-MGA), 2026–2027.

Abbas Jamalipour received the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan, in 1996. He is the Professor of Ubiquitous Mobile Networking at the University of Sydney. He has authored nine technical books, eleven book chapters, over 650 technical papers, and five patents, all in wireless communications and networking. Prof. Jamalipour is the recipient of several prestigious awards, such as the 2025 Neville Thiele Eminence Award from Engineers Australia, the IEEE ComSoc Harold Sobol Award, the IEEE ComSoc Best Tutorial Paper Award, and over fifteen Best Paper Awards. He has held positions of President of the Vehicular Technology Society and the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology. He was the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Wireless Communications, the Vice President-Conferences, and a member of the Board of Governors of the IEEE Communications Society; currently, he is the Vice President-MGA. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical, Information, and Communication Engineers (IEICE), the Institution of Engineers Australia (IEAust), and the International Artificial Intelligence Industry Alliance (AIIA), and a Visiting Fellow of the UK Royal Academy of Engineering.

Stefano: Hello Abbas! Would you like to begin by introducing the MGA scope of activities to our readers?

Abbas: The Members and Global Activities Council is responsible for all Society activities and programs related to members, chapters, membership development, sister and related societies, and Society regions. It oversees ComSoc member activities and programs for individuals, chapters, and sections, ensuring cost-effective marketing for the Society’s services, products, initiatives, and activities.

The Council also initiates, stimulates, and coordinates the activities of ComSoc members and chapters throughout the four regions of North America (NA), Latin America (LA), Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and Asia/Pacific (AP). Overall, the MGA-C ensures that our current members find ComSoc valuable in their profession, so they continue to be members, and it also promotes ComSoc in a way that encourages non-members to become members.

MGA connects members across the globe through a network of over 600 chapters and provides financial and professional support so they can best serve their local members. We also organize distinguished lectures around the world and promote members’ achievements through regional awards, student competitions, mentoring, etc., with particular attention to students and young professional members as our future leaders in ComSoc.

This is your first time serving as IEEE ComSoc VP-MGA. How was your first impression when you were appointed? And on the first days, after you started serving in your new position? What was the first difficulty you faced?

It is only a few months since I started my first term as the ComSoc VP for MGA, and it has been extremely busy day after day.

Frankly, I couldn’t believe that we were so busy at the very beginning. Still, I am extremely happy that, in the short period since the start of the year, we have created over 40 new and extended programs with an over one-million-dollar budget, beyond the prior year, to serve members in the best possible way.

The MGA regional directors, YP, WICE, Sister Societies, Industry outreach, and member service chairs have been very busy developing and implementing member services.

What is the best news of this year?

I think the best news of the year so far is the additional funding for new and extended services for members, with a budget exceeding one million dollars beyond the prior year.

We are creating programs that help student and graduate student members, young professionals, and higher-grade members across the world, regardless of age, profession, or gender.

Chapters are the local ComSoc Organization Units that allow Members to gather and form communities in each country by organizing workshops, conferences, and lectures that target local needs. Would you please elaborate on their roles in ComSoc and IEEE? Do you have any new programs aimed at Chapters?

ComSoc professional chapters and Student Branch Chapters are the closest organizational units of ComSoc to the members. The MGA-C provides financial and staff support to the chapters so they can better serve the members.

In addition, we have created various programs and awards for chapters, including the Twin Chapters program, which the Member and Global Activities Council manages. This program fosters collaboration between ComSoc chapters, enhancing knowledge exchange, professional development, and global networking through joint activities and technical initiatives.

Regularly, Regional Chapter Chair Congress (RCCC) and Global Chapter Chair Congress (GCCC) events are provided as a benefit to ComSoc chapters to facilitate and encourage sharing, feedback, and networking amongst chapter chairs, staff, and ComSoc officers. In 2026, the EMEA region held its RCCC during IEEE ICC2026 in Glasgow, and in 2027, we will hold our GCCC during IEEE GLOBECOM2027 in Abu Dhabi, where all chapter chairs will be invited.

The Distinguished Lecturer Program (DLP) and the Distinguished Speaker Program (DSP) are particularly appreciated by our Members. What are the activities of MGA under these ComSoc Programs?

MGA runs DLP and DSP tours through its global reach, covering over 620 chapters. As the new VP-MGA, I have worked with the ComSoc leaders to extend the program with additional funding, which could increase the number of tours by more than 10 in 2026, hopefully appreciated by our members.

We are also working with the VP-TEA to enhance the selection of future distinguished lecturers, ensuring only the best speakers are invited to the chapters. We also initiated in 2026 a new program, the Regional Impact & Leadership Program, to complement the existing DLP.

What other membership activities in ComSoc do you consider most significant, and which would you like to highlight in particular?

I personally believe in encouraging students and young professionals by providing greater services, including awards and recognition. In addition to the increase in the number of awards, we have initiated a Scholarship program for student members this year.

We also provide additional financial support and membership dues discounts to our higher-grade members who have been loyal to ComSoc and have continued their membership for many years.

We have also initiated a new program for student members to receive a 50% discount on membership fees during their first five years after graduation, as just one example of the programs we are creating for our members.

What are the most difficult challenges that you face in the MGA?

I think the most difficult challenge for MGA is that we cannot connect with every single member, and some members may feel they are not being cared for enough by ComSoc.

We are trying to make our local and student branch chapters more active so they can better connect with members in their respective geographical regions and share their feedback, so we, as ComSoc leaders, can serve them better.

And what about Students? Do you regularly organize any specific activities for them?

MGA highly respects and values student and graduate student membership.

In addition to the student competition and 4M thesis, we are creating a new program called the ComSoc Student Project Implementation Grant Program, which will provide financial support, such as seed funding, to students around the world to start and complete their projects and then bring them into the existing competitions.

We have also initiated a new program for student Scholarships & Fellowships in 2026, so they can get funding to research topics relevant to ComSoc if they don’t have other resources to support their research.

In addition, we are conducting a feasibility study to determine whether we can provide complementary Xplore access to Student Branch Chapters. Loyalty program, Transition from Student to Member, and Connect IEEE ComSoc Student Chapters all over the world using Amateur Radio are two other new programs we will start in 2026 for our student and graduate student members.

What are your plans for 2027?

Now that we are in the second half of 2026, I, as the VP-MGA, together with our talented and dedicated MGA Council team, will first implement new programs and then evaluate their relevance and efficiency for our ComSoc members, no matter where they live or what stage of their career they are at. I hope we receive constructive feedback from a wide range of members and further enhance ComSoc’s membership services for all.

We are aiming at the ComSoc for the All era. In preparation for the ComSoc 75th Anniversary in 2027, this year we have initiated a Social Networking Campaign with the theme of “I &ComSoc,” where all members can reflect on their relationship with ComSoc through photos, short videos, or even text. We will also be holding a competition for the ComSoc 75th Anniversary logo, and I look forward to seeing many great ideas from our members, young and not-so-young, and all members. Thank you for your support of ComSoc and the MGA Council!

Would you like to conclude our interview by presenting the members of the MGA Council and their roles, including both Volunteers and Staff?

I am very fortunate to be supported by a group of talented and experienced Volunteers in the MGA Council, namely:

• Ricardo Veiga, Director — Member Services;

• Gerhard Fettweis, Director — Industry Outreach;

• Angela Zhang, Director — Asia/Pacific Region;

• Stefano Giordano, Director — Europe, Middle East & Africa;

• Yessica Saez, Director — Latin America;

• Newman Wilson, Director — North America;

• Soumaya Cherkaoui, Chair — WICE Committee;

• Qingqing Wu, Chair — Young Professionals Committee.

The MGA activities are supported by very dedicated Staff, including

• Trish Jaraicie, Marketing & Membership Director;

• Cindy Tiritilli, Senior Membership and Programs Manager;

• Diane Turton, Volunteer and Membership Operations Specialist.