EESTEC Publications: 47th issue

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CONTENT

table of

03

09

BCIs: The future of neurotechnology

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Digital fashion

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PLANet B: Mars

World’s Smallest Brain-Inspired Computer

35

Interviews

27

Smart cities

42

EESTEC Career Expo

EESTEC Publications

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Electric cars

BCIs: The future of Neurotechnology

by Kaan Azkın

Wouldn’t you like to turn off the lights without getting out of your comfy bed? What does writing a message just by thinking the words and sending it just by imagining pressing the send button sounds like? Surfing through the web, playing video games, preparing your assignments just by looking at your screen? Sounds great right?

So, let’s step it up a little. What if you had control over your brain activities? You could motivate yourself for studying, stop your addictions, even cure your depression. That would help so many people right?

Let’s take one more step and say, what if we can cure acquired blindness. Cure cognitive and motor function disorders and maybe even total paralysis?

Yes, I know, the last few things I listed seem impossible to do, but most of them have been done with the help of BCIs. Yes, it can be oversimplified as “controlling devices with your mind” or “human-machine symbiosis” for now but they promise to be much more than that.

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What is BCI?

Non-Invasive BCIs The easiest and seemingly safest method of BCI tech. While there are multiple ways to create one, the most common method is to attach wearable electrodes to an electroencephalographic device(EEG).

EEG is a method to scan and record the brain’s electrical activity. After EEG recorded the brain signals, they get processed in electrodes and sent to a different computer to give an output. Noninvasive BCIs can look like a total helmet or basic headphones with respect to their applications.

Partially Invasive BCIs Partially invasive BCI devices are implanted inside the skull but rest outside the brain rather than within the grey matter. They produce better resolution signals than non-invasive BCIs because there is less noise caused by the skull and skin and have a lower risk of forming scar tissue in the brain than fully invasive BCIs.

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A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a computer-based system that acquires brain signals, analyzes them, and translates them into commands that are relayed to an output device to carry out the desired action. There are generally three types of BCI implementations. Based on how close they are to the brain tissue, non-invasive, partially invasive, and invasive BCIs

In 1999, researchers at the University of California show four sets of images to cats and recorded their retina-brain signals. From these recordings, they succeeded to decode and recreate images.

Past and Future of BCI Technology

Although they’ve been brought up to the attention of people by Elon Musk’s Neuralink Project webcast in 2020, the first thoughts of BCI’s formed in the 1970s by Jacques Vidal, he also used the term brain-computer interface for the first time in 1973.

After four years of experiments, he managed to create a working non-invasive BCI device. He used his brain waves to move a mouse cursor in a 2D maze on a computer screen.

There are numerous animal experiments made between the 1980s and the late 2000s.

I can’t address every one of them, but to give a few examples:

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In 2002, John Donoghue’s lab at the Carney Institute trained rhesus monkeys to fallow objects on a computer screen with a joystick. With the help of a little banana smoothie, monkeys managed to move the cursor and click the objects (and even played pong) with the joystick disconnected.

If we turn our heads to human experiments, we once again see some fascinating but ethically questionable results.

In 1978 Dr.Dobelle managed to develop a BCI device to cure acquired blindness. Again in 2002 Dobelle created a second generation implant and although they lose their eyesight again in long term managed to cure 16 more patients.

In 2005 a company named Cyberkinetics developed a chip implant for paralysis treatment.

With the chip implanted in his precentral gyrus (area of the motor cortex for arm movement), a tetraplegic (four limb paralysis) patient was able to control a robotic arm with his mind.

This list can go on for ages, but let’s stop here and talk a bit about the literal “sea of possibilities” the BCIs offer.

First of all, let’s address the elephant in the room, medical implementations of BCI technology.

Specialized BCI devices from the company Neurable can scan your brain waves to determine the most productive hours of your day, test and find the best music that improves your motivation and focus.

The final product of the Neurable will look like a normal headphone and will be available in mid-to-late 2022.

NextMind, a company working on BCIs developed a device that allows you to use your mobile phones, computers, TVs with your mind.

NextMind also provides a developer kit for their device so you can build your own applications. With a little imagination, the sky’s the only limit and their product is already on the market.

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BCIs can be a way for curing some neurological disorders like spinal cord injuries, Alzheimer’s disease, and epilepsy. There are already working prototypes of BCI prosthetic limbs and implants for sensory system disorders.

Ethical Problems The moral questions caused by BCI technology can be classified under two titles. User-centered issues and socio-legal problems.

For user-centered issues, considerations are mostly on medical origins.

The long-term effects of the invasive BCIs are largely unknown. Because invasive chips are usually planted on the skull or the brain itself, the process can cause traumatic injuries to the tissues.

The immune system may recognize the implants as harmful and that causes the immune system to produce immune responses continuously.

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As you can imagine, that would be a lot worse than getting your phone or computer hacked. There is no real mind control threat but brain signals can give out a general idea of your intentions, chips can provide tracking systems, movement, and, maybe the most dangerous one of all, emotional control.

Conclusion As I said at the beginning, BCI is a fascinating as well as ethically problematic technology. While BCI technology has delivered a lot to this date, its promises for the future are greater. Whether it will be able to fulfill those promises or fall victim to conspiracy theories, only time will tell.

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When we look at the socio-legal problems, things get a bit darker. At the end of the day, BCI chips are technological devices that can be hacked.

Digital Fashion

Where enginners meet fashionistas

by Lana Kejžar

Real, but not tangible. Pixels, not textiles. Exclusive, but affordable. Welcome to the world of digital fashion. As technology became more sophisticated and Covid-19 pandemic stroke, we were forced to start living a considerable portion of our lives online. But how do we feel about making our daily routines – such as dressing up in the morning – virtual?

Technology is everywhere Levitating jackets, burning shoes, you name it … augmented reality (AR) is an environment where one can wear anything they can(not) imagine. AR is the environment where digital fashion was born.

Digital fashion visually represents clothing and strongly depends on computer technologies and 3D software. As the news site Times of Israel explains: »Digital fashion is an umbrella term that can include digital clothing rendered onto real people, digital modelling of realworld clothing, digital clothing for our future avatar selves in the virtual metaverse world, or blockchainoriented digital designs to be sold as NFTs.«

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I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it

… or just a comfortable office chair, 3D software and endless imagination.

This is a friendly warning, that we have entered the evolving field of augmented reality. What we used to see as dress up games, using avatars in virtual reality, has become the seed for developing digital fashion nowadays.

When it comes to technology behind the virtual fashion, AR system goes hand in hand with 3D animation software and blockchain technology.

Many digital fashion brands (brands such as DressX, that create digital garments) offer their products as NFTs while investing in artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies as well, mostly in order to forecast trends.

No driving around, no standing in lines of clothing stores, no tight changing rooms, no troubles with finding the perfect model, … Digital fashion comes in all shapes and sizes. Since the garment has more common components with editable photoshop file rather than an actual piece of clothing, it can simply be adjusted to anyone’s proportions. Digital clothing can be fit on any body size and it immediately allows people to virtually try on garments before purchasing them or before they are even manufactured. Furthermore, costumers can download new outfits or buy fashion NFTs from all around the world.

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Lights, camera, action

Can innovation for individuals be beneficial for fashion brands and designers as well?

Digital fashion contributes to sustainability in fashion industry, which is the second largest world’s polluter.

Creating a white t-shirt is responsible for emitting 6.5 kg of CO2, while the amount of emitted CO2 drops to only 0.312 kg when creating a digital garment. When it comes to creating clothing, we are no longer talking about fashion designers – the scene is taken over by graphic and 3D designers. They have more freedom since professional designing tools allow them to play with law of physics, fabric textures, gravity, non-existent designs, … Digital artists do not have to run from store to store in order to find perfect fabric, with a click or two they can completely change the texture and material of the garment or even the fit of their avatar.

Digital fashion is also any easy and eco-friendly solution for fashion brands to make digital clothing in order to see the interest and costumers’ feedback before actually producing them. Nevertheless, more and more brands want their collections to be digitalized. However, The Fabricant, a digital fashion brand, summing up the guidelines of digital fashion: »We waste nothing but data and exploit nothing but our imagination«, is in all honesty a complete opposite of today’s fast fashion.

The Emperor has no clothes … … in real life. In virtual world, he has a full wardrobe. And a bomb Instagram feed. However, digital clothing is not functional substitute. On the other hand, it is opening a whole new world of content creation, digital modelling, 3D technology and endless imagination. Therefore, the real challenge of merging digital and physical is just around the corner.

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PLANet B: MARS

by Hüsniye İremnur ÇINAR

Is Mars being our new home?

It has been realized that climate change is inevitable and observable thanks to record-breaking temperatures in summer, rising sea levels, and increasing forest fires.

Scientists no longer debate whether climate change has occurred. This is a reality for our planet.

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United Nations report, on the other hand, showed the plight once again. According to research, climate change is happening all over the world now, and it’s too late to regret it. Because climate change has already reached an irreversible level.

The strongest candidate for humanity’s new home is Mars!

Many billionaires who are space enthusiasts think that the first human colony of extraterrestrials should be sent to Mars. NASA is working hard to learn about the red planet.

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Due to the dire situation of the Earth, humanity has started new searches and research has been going on for years.

Why Mars?

In fact, two locations stand out for where the first extraterrestrial colony should go: the Moon and Mars.

The reasons why Mars is considered as the first choice are: - The rotation speed of Mars is close to Earth, so the duration of a day on Mars is almost equal to the time on Earth.

- The temperature difference between night and day is not very high.

- Mars has an atmosphere. The disadvantage of this atmosphere is that it contains a lot of carbon dioxide.

Good news. The geology of Mars supports the idea that tiny organisms could be there. So there’s a sign of life, and that’s a pretty fascinating possibility.

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It is currently searching for clues and evidence of life on Mars, which hosts two probes, a helicopter, and a satellite.

Getting to this point was not easy, and the knowledge of the planet was shaped by the vehicles sent.

1964: Mariner 4, becomes the first vehicle to reach Mars. Mariner 4, sent by NASA, took a photo of the Martian surface.

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Space vessels and exposures

1975: Viking 1 and Viking 2, land for the first time. They found no signs of life, but they showed that many of the essential elements for life exist on the planet.

1996: The Sojourner Rover used a wheeled vehicle for the first time on a planet in the solar system. Sojourner Rover’s tenure was 1 week, but the vehicle achieved extraordinary success, did research for 83 days.

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2004: Opportunity studied the chemical structure of soil and minerals. He found evidence that there was water on Mars in the past.

2011: Curiosity is actively researching. Curiosity discovered methane gas on Mars. If it is considered that microbes produce most of the methane gas on Earth, the likelihood of life on Mars increases.

2020: Zhurong, a spacecraft sent by China to Mars. He gathered information about the atmosphere and geological structure of the planet.

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2020: Perseverance collected rock and sediment samples. The collected rock samples were examined and it was understood that they had been in contact with water for a long time. This data is a strong basis for claiming that there was ancient life on Mars.

Is a human colony possible on Mars?

Although humanity has reached some data through space studies, it is still too early to designate Mars as a new address.

First of all, it is necessary to develop the technology for a manned flight to Mars, otherwise, the risk of death during the journey is high.

Also, while sending humans to Mars is a successful and important step, it is not the same as colonizing. NASA plans to send humans to Mars in 2035.

Billionaire Elon Musk set up a workshop of engineers and scientists.

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The workshop seeks to answer the question, ‘Is it possible to establish a colony on Mars in 100 years?’

The manned journey to Mars carries risks in terms of technology, economy, and human health.

Identifying these dangers and devising solutions for each are essential factors in establishing a new life on Mars.

“Identifying these dangers and devising solutions for each are essential factors in establishing a new life on Mars.

Identifying these dangers and devising solutions for each are essential factors in establishing a new life on Mars.”

- NASA

Fun facts 2. Mars appears red in color due to the dense iron oxide on its surface. That’s why it is known as the red planet.

3. 5 flights for the Infinity helicopter, interacting with NASA’s spacecraft Perseverance, was targeted. Infinity was successful on all flights!

4. Former UK President Winston Churchill had an unpublished scientific article on extraterrestrial life called ‘Are We Alone in the Universe?’.

In his article written in the 1950s, Churchill said, ‘One day, maybe even not so far away, it may be possible to travel to the Moon, even Venus and Mars.’ had written.

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1. Mars is named after the Roman god of war.

Electric Cars

by Bianca Pirtac

What is an electric car?

Any vehicle powered by an electric motor (either exclusively or assisted by an internal combustion engine) and fully or partially powered by a battery may be classified as an electric car.

Although some variants are called “hybrids”, still having some CO2 emissions, these vehicles are, at least statistically, cleaner than the classic “ICE” (Internal Combustion Engine).

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Advantages: •

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An electric or semi-electric motor will provide a financial advantage from the start because the fuel consumption will be substantially reduced.

Disadvantages: •

The charging station infrastructure is still poorly developed.

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An electric car provides all the power you would reasonably need.

Any consumer in the car will reduce its autonomy.

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Electric cars can reduce the impact of pollution on the environment.

The purchase price of an electric car is still much higher than a car with a heat engine.

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Limited autonomy (in winter, autonomy halves).

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Relatively short battery life.

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It is silent.

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It can also be charged at a home socket.

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Low maintenance costs.

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No registration tax is required.

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Low power costs.

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What are the advantages and disadvantages of an electric car?

Electric Cars

by Bianca Pirtac

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Top 15 best-selling electric cars in Europe in 2021:

How much does an electric car cost?

1. Tesla Model 3: 141.221 2. Renault Zoe: 71.579 3. Volkswagen ID.3: 69.090 4. Volkswagen ID.4: 54.476 5. Kia e-Niro: 46.790 6. Fiat 500e: 44.334 7. Škoda Enyaq: 44.039 8. Hyundai Kona EV: 42.920 9. Peugeot e-208: 42.450 10. Volkswagen e-Up!: 40.973 11. Nissan Leaf: 34.643 12. Mini Cooper SE: 29.712 13. Smart EQ ForTwo: 27.990 14. Dacia Spring: 27.569 15. Peugeot e-2008: 26.453

1. Renault ZOE - among the most affordable electric cars in Romania, with a starting price of 30,350 euros.

2. Volkswagen e-Golf - the price of this model is 33,142 euros.

3. BMW i3 – its price is 40,282 euros.

4. Peugeot e-2008 - the starting price is 33,907 euros.

1. You will save money on fuel

4. It retains its resale value

Having an electric car, you will save money from the start for powering the car. In addition, many cars benefit from the regenerative braking system that allows the car to recover from used energy while slowing down.

Leasing and financing costs take into account the residual value of the car at the end of the contract, so the higher trading values of ​​ the cars help keep the cost of ownership low.

2. You will have lower taxes

5. They are easy to maintain

Car tax is cheaper for electric models. They are classified as “alternative fuel” cars and the tax rates are lower than a petrol vehicle with the same power.

Because electric cars run on electricity, the engine is less worn. The brakes wear less - they don’t have to work as hard as the regenerative braking system helps to slow down the car. Because brakes need to be replaced less often, maintenance costs are reduced.

3. You will protect the environment Electric cars do not burn fuel, and this means that they produce less CO2 which can act as a greenhouse gas and promote global climate change.

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5 reasons to buy an electric car:

World’s Smallest Brain-Inspired Computer

by Bade Naz Güreş

Have you ever thought of a computer that actually resembles the structure of the human brain? A computer with a brain and to be the smallest? How will that work?

Scientists all around the world have come a long way in terms of Artificial Intelligence and its improvement. Every minute, something new is discovered in favor of AI’s world of mystery.

Despite progress, there is still uncertainty about how to reduce the power and energy required to operate AI algorithms. This is where our brain-inspired computer comes into play. But how does this small device function with such low energy

consumption?

Let us take a look at why the size of a device matters when it comes to energy conservation.

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In What Way Is It Similar To The Human Brain?

There are many factors considered to lower the energy consumption in AI algorithms. The first and foremost is to pick smaller models among the devices while keeping all other variables constant. They require fewer amounts of processing as they possess simpler components.

The smaller it gets, the less energy it consumes. So, what does it prove about the smallest brain-inspired computer? That it also ingests the least amount of energy? Who knows!

A new hardware design that recognizes the construction of our brains. The invention was inspired by the structure of the human brain; encompassing neurons, synapses, and neural networks. The trio is also called “BICs”. Although the reduction of energy consumption is remarkable for this device, there still is a lot of work required to make BICs similar to the human brain considering its smaller size and energy efficiency. “If we succeed, we’ll have the world’s smallest BIC system, smaller than a grain of dust, with energy consumption so low that it can be harvested straight from the environment.”

(2021, Hooman Farkhani). Does this mean a power supply won’t be necessary anymore? Imagine the evolution of AI with such a trump card!

“The device’s energy consumption will be so low that it will be able to generate its own energy from its surroundings.”

(Sept. 17, 2021, Jesper Bruun).

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Smaller Devices to Reduce AI Energy Consumption

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Smart Cities

by George Angelopoulos

All that may seem like a scenario out of a TV show about a businessman from the future, but it isn’t. This may be a casual day for many people in big cities around the world that have started to migrate into a Smart City.

Like a smart home, a smartphone, a smart- watch, a smart city can be described as a city that offers various quality of life services to its citizens via technology and the Internet of Things. Of course, smart cities are more than that and offer great improvements over a typical city, including security, environmental issues and more. So what exactly is a Smart City?

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Imagine waking up at 7:30 sharp by your alarm while your windows automatically let the morning light inhabit the room. Βy the time you finish your morning routine, while you finish dressing up for that important meeting at work, your car is waiting for you at the garage. As you get in, you immediately get a traffic report on the GPS screen and a suggested route for your destination, with some cafeteria suggestions along the way to grab your morning coffee, based on your likings. As you get the coffee, you pay with your phone, which is linked to your bank account, through the drive through so as to not lose any time and you get on your merry way to start your day.

Definition

And how do they implement it?

A smart city can be referred to as a framework that mainly consists of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to promote sustainable development practices in order to address the growing urbanization. In other words, the main goal of a smart city is to optimize city functions, promote the quality of life of the citizens and economic growth, all that by utilizing smart technologies and data analysis. However, a city’s smartness is not determined by the amount of technology used but by how.

Smart cities take advantage of wireless communication between devices for data exchange, mainly via the Internet of Things. If you are wondering what IoT is [1], put simply, it’s a network of devices, people, mechanical or digital machines and objects in general that can be given unique identifiers (UIDs) and have the ability to transfer data. Then data collected by those devices is stored in the cloud of the city and is used to further optimize and enhance certain functionalities, either public or private ones. For security, a system is monitoring and protecting the transmission of data so that no unauthorized access takes place over sensitive data.

How a smart city works can be divided into 4 stages: -The collection of the data from sensors and various devices.

-The processing and analyzing of this data to gain insight over the city’s operations.

-The communication of these results to decision makers.

-Actions to further improve operations and quality of life for residents.

So, imagine street cameras and traffic lights [3] for example communicating in order to adjust for traffic in certain areas for different times of the day, accordingly.

Or trash cans that, when full, send a notification so that they can be emptied.

Or systems that, in case of an accident, notify the nearest ambulance and hospital.

From small problems and quality of life improvements to serious events that require immediate attention, smart cities offer that in excess.

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Do we really need them?

The keyword that sets apart a smart city from a regular one is efficiency. With the expected growth in population and residency in cities, management will become more and more unwieldy, resulting in the need for more assets and resources. Smart cities offer a solution to these needs as they provide management and resource oversight without the need of intermediate parties.

Aside from that, they can also be self sustainable and monetizable in a healthy way. Cities in general have some environmental advantages but have also many disadvantages, i.e. air pollution and the use of fossil fuel.

Smart technologies could help unburden them from these negativities, through for example, the implementation of electric transport systems (cars, metros, scooters etc.). In that way, air emissions and noise pollution would be dramatically reduced while there could be a decrease of car ownership, as a result of many autonomous EV being publicly available

Monetization could play a significant role in smart cities too. Although quite inaccurate as an analogy [4], some could say data is the new oil! Also, capital expenditures can be quite high when talking about technology installations that span the whole city. So, how can a city monetize this data and help preserve itself?

One of the best practices is a subscription based model and commercials. For instance, at some point there could be a subscription service of renting an EV out of a shared collection between owners, which will help with the traffic congestion problem as well. Altogether, with such sustainable solutions smart cities can be very beneficial for the environment, the economy and the society.

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54% of the world population lives in cities, a number which is expected to increase to 66% by the end of 2050, adding 2.5 billion people in cities. With such growth in population, smart cities are a necessity in order to achieve environmental, economical and social sustainability.

Challenges and security As stated above, smart cities can offer many improvements to the modern lifestyle.

But naturally, there must be some challenges that make it somewhat difficult for them to be implemented. Some notable ones are for starters the fact that there should be an open data vault of information for the citizens. But this raises concerns regarding the privacy of sensitive data. This leads to a need for a sturdy and secure system of data collection and processing, which will be resistant to malicious attacks.

Moreover, probably the biggest challenge of smart cities is that of connectivity. Think about it, hundreds of thousands or even millions of IoT devices need to be connected to the same network and work in unison. In that case services have to join up and improvements have to be made as demand grows.

Security wise, smart cities are trying to be as safe as possible for their residents via real time surveillance, for example immediate response to medical emergency. But what about the security of smart cities themselves?

There is a great need for ensuring that they are protected from data theft and hacking as well as for the certainty that the data collected is accurate. But for that to happen, citizens need to trust smart cities and providers need to work together to deliver solutions with security objectives. These can be broken down as follows:

1. Availability: Data should be accessible reliably at all times. How data is collected is critical and security solutions should avoid adverse effects on availability.

2. Integrity: Data must be reliable and accurate, as well as safe from manipulation.

3. Confidentiality: Sensitive data must be kept from unauthorized access, so steps like firewalls or anonymizing the data must be made.

4. Accountability: Interactions with sensitive information should be associated with an id, in case where a problem arises. These logs should be hard to forge and be reliable.

Steps that aim for these goals are already being made, like the IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act in the United States.

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Examples Many cities across the world have moved towards a smart implantation. Some of the most notable ones are: Singapore: Is considered one of the front runners in the race for creating fully smart cities, with IoT cameras surveilling streets, traffic, crowd density and cleanliness as well as systems for waste management, energy and water consumption in real time.

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Amsterdam: Initiating the smart city approach since 2009, Amsterdam is a prime example of the open data vault efficiency. For reference, traffic and transportation data is being shared with interested parties for the creation of maps and other utilities. Also, there are the so-called “roboats”, some autonomous delivery boats, and a floating village, giving a solution to the overcrowding with a sustainable, energy efficient solution.

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Kansas: Here you can find smart street lights, interactive kiosks as well as over 50 blocks of free Wi-Fi. Through the data visualization app, citizens can have access to free parking slots, traffic flow and pedestrian hotspots.

Conclusion Although there may be some objections towards the integrity and necessity of smart cities, one thing is certain; They are going to play a very important role in the future.

Although there are some challenges to overcome, the benefits are worth the effort.

From quality of life improvements, to better healthcare, safety, economical growth and overall efficiency, they can help with the ever-rising problem of overpopulation and create a sustainable future for the generations to come. Who knows, maybe the day your house will wake you up and the city will manage to give you a fast and safe passage at work is much, much closer than you think!

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Did you know?

• • • • • •

Asia-based IoT and Smart City firms have a projected revenue of 42.96 billion U.S. dollars for 2021 China is currently deploying approximately 800 Smart City programs countrywide.

Cities consume between 60% and 80% of the world’s energy.

There are already more than 500 cities globally that have at least 1 million inhabitants.

For the sake of comparison, in 1900, there were just 12 such cities.

In the European Union, the digitization of services has reduced operating costs for 85% of cities.

Singapore is planning to launch a fleet of automated buses in 2022.

The top three Smart Cities according to IMD’s Smart City Index are Singapore, Helsinki, and Zurich.

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Interview to the Board of the Association Questions by Bade Naz Güreş

1) Can you tell us about what each position on the EESTEC Board is responsible for, briefly?

The Board consist of 5 people and they are the following: The Chairperson, responsible for coordinating the workflow of the whole Board and the main responsible for the Board for the Live Board Meetings and Congresses.

The Treasurer, responsible for accounting and bookkeeping, financial reports, access to the bank accounts and finally maintaining and updating our legal documents.

The VC-EA, responsible for NGO and Corporate partners, Universities, establishing new Observers and expansion in general and the Public Relations of EESTEC. The VC-IA, responsible for coordinating the Contact Persons and for the motivation, activation and education of EESTEC branches and the internationally active members The VC-AA, responsible for data collection and preservation, checking that the branches follow the rules of the Association, the proper conduct of the events and the IT infrastructure of the Association.

All of the positions are important in their own way, but you are first a Boardie and then your positions. That means that you mainly work as a whole team and then you do the tasks that your position requires.

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2) How does the Board deal with a crisis? What is the procedure? What materials do you use or what methods do you follow in order to solve a problem concerning EESTEC? There is no specific procedure here since every crisis is different so I will speak more generally. First, we try for sure to examine every side of the story and brainstorm many different solutions. We are not alone on that, depending on the situation we will ask for advice from experienced people on the matter and these could be the Supervisory Board, our Leaders and Board Assistants or even what we call the “legacy”, basically, they are old Board members that can be easily approached. After that, we see what is the best solution to take and all that in a timely manner.

3) How frequently do you organize meetings, and are they usually held online or in person? What is discussed in those meetings?

The Live Board Meetings are very important for the Board since it consists of 5 different people from different places in Europe and in BOMs they have the chance to meet, bond with each other and work together! Finally, BOMs are organized by a certain branch and always as a “thank you” the Board will make sure that they give something back to the members of the branch

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We have both online and live meetings. We are having weekly online meetings, but depending on the period there could be more than one or none at all. The live board meetings are a type of official EESTEC event and we call them BOMs for short, BOard Meetings. The live board meetings happen at least 5 times during the mandate, the first is in the beginning and of the mandate and it’s called HOBOM, Handover BOard Meeting. This BOM is about knowledge transfer from the old to the new Board. The other 2 are Summer and Winter Board Meetings, where we discuss important matters of the Association and try to produce some outcomes that will improve EESTEC. Finally, we have 2 more, that are happening a week before each Congress and usually the main topics there are preparations for the Congress.

4) How frequently and where do the Board elections occur? What are the definitions of “mandate,” “Board in office,” and “Board ex officio”?

We have Board Elections in every Spring Congress that is happening usually around April to May. When we say “Board in Office (BiO) we refer to the Board that is currently running the Association and when we are referring to “Board-ex-officio” we are referring to the previous Board of the Board in Office. Finally, a mandate of a Board starts on the 1st of August and ends on the 31st of July of next year.

Having stated all that, let’s see the whole procedure. We have Spring Congress and we elect the new Board and until the 1st of August, when their mandate starts, they are called “Board-Elect”. After Spring Congress until the 1st of August, it’s the transition period, where the BiO is transferring knowledge to Board Elect. This knowledge transfer starts online and it ends with the event of HOBOM, where the 2 Boards work together so the BoardElect will be fully ready for their mandate. When the mandate changes the Board in Office becomes Board ex Officio and the Board Elect becomes Board in Office. Finally, the Board-ex-officio has to present their activity in Autumn Congress and be relieved from their duties.

5) Does the Board have the power to suspend or terminate a branch? If so, on which occasions?

No, the Board does not have such power, the suspension and termination of a branch should be voted in a Congress by the General Assembly. The Board is responsible for overseeing the branches and if they see that they are not following the rules, they can nominate branches for suspension or termination.

If the Board announces a termination of a branch and there was no voting by the General Assembly, then it means that was a decision from the branch itself.

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6) How frequently do the Supervisory Board and the Board in office collaborate? When does the Board need the oversight of the Supervisory Basically, during the whole mandate, the Supervisory Board oversees the Board. They are in every official channel of the Board and they can jump into a discussion and provide us with their perspective since they have more experience in EESTEC and have more insights on some matters.

The two occasions that the Supervisory Board will be for sure there for the Board is when it comes to legal or financial matters since usually are the ones with the biggest consequences for the Association.

7) What kinds of reports do you prepare and what do they consist of? (e.g. the financial reports, meeting reports, etc.)

The main reports of the Board are the Quarterly Reports, we have four during the mandate that we should publish at the end of each quarter.

These reports are documents that summarize our activities and the status of our annual goals up until the point of the report.

The other reports are Board Reports and Financial Reports which are presented twice a year, once in Autumn Congress and once in Spring Congress. Board Report is a presentation that again includes our activities and the status of our goals and in the Financial Report we present the budget of the Association. Both of these reports, since they are happening during Congress, the representatives there have the opportunity to ask questions about the reports in order to gain more insights and like that we raise the transparency of the Association.

Regarding the Operational Events, which are events that are organized by the International Teams of EESTEC, at the beginning of the mandate, the Board decides together with the Leaders of the Teams what Operational Events they will organize during the following mandate then they announce them. Usually, we divide the Operational Events among the Board Members and the basic responsibilities from the Board’s side, are to find an organizing branch, establish the collaboration between the organizing branch and the International Team responsible for the event, evaluate the event after it’s finished and in general oversee its organization to make sure that everything is going well.

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8) What role does the Board play in the organization of Operational events and Congresses through the year?

For Congresses, the Board is mainly responsible for the content during the General Meetings. This includes the agenda, the presentations, communication with any other party that will present during Congress and in general everything that is happening during the General Meetings.

Obviously, the Board needs to have close communication with the Congress Organizing Committee.

9) Does the board supervise the JLC’s and Observer Committees in their journey of becoming a local committee?

The usual process is that the VC-EA helps to open an observer and then the supervision is transferred to the VC-IA and VC-AA, and also some of the teams after each of these departments.

More specifically, the VC-AA with the cooperation of the Data team is making sure that the JLCs and Observers are following the rules, by checking the reports that the branches have to send to the VC-AA. The VC-IA in cooperation with the Regionalization Project are taking care of the motivation and education of these branches, by providing them with academic resources, sessions and any other help on their matters. Especially, the sub-team of Regionalization Project, Angels Teams, assigns 2 angels angels team members - to guide the JLCs and Observers and help them until they become a local committee.

10) What qualities does one need to possess in order to become a Board member of EESTEC? The main things are two, to have a vision of where EESTEC should be heading and what changes they want to make and the second one is motivation. In the end there is no one quality that is mandatory or one combination that makes a perfect Boardie, it is the sum of all of them and the willingness to dedicate the time and effort for a mandate.

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Interview to the VC-AA Konstantinos Kotorenis

Questions by George Angelopoulos

1) Firstly, who are you, how many years have you been an EESTEC member, and what is your position on the Board?

My name is Konstantinos Kotorenis, I am from LC Patras but my town of origin is Kastoria, Greece. I joined EESTEC in September 2019 and immediately joined the international Design Team. My current position is Vice Chairperson for Administrative Affairs.

2) What led you to apply for this position?

During my mandate as Coordinator for Education in the international Design Team, I saw a lot of things that didn’t function properly and I had some ideas on how to solve these issues. For this reason, I started working towards gaining experience in order to join the Board of the Association.

Another reason was observing some friends of mine that have been on the Board of the Association or local boards how they were changed by their experience inside the Board. I wanted to get a piece of that pie and to go through the process they underwent in order to improve myself and my skills.

3) What experience have you gained from this position and what benefits have you gained this far?

I improved a lot in my communication, conflict management, time management and scheduling skills. I gained knowledge on how to create a warm, welcoming and safe environment. I gained knowledge of legal things. I learned how to deal with the fact that you cannot achieve everything and I learned to set priorities in my life. I can say that through that process I became more open-minded, I became more aware of how an association works, how people work and behave.

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4) What are some troubles or difficulties you have encountered during your mandate?

The biggest issue that I was dealing with was motivation and demotivation.

Inside the Board a lot of things happen from different sources, a lot of them being unpredictable. When you think that everything is under control something happens and you need to readjust everything. Learning how to deal with all the unpredictable situations had a toll on my mental health but it is something that taught me a lot. Step by step I learned and am still learning to deal with it.

5) Why do you think someone should apply for this position?

As a Board member, you learn a lot, like a ton a lot. You learn to set priorities, manage a big workload, understand how an association works and understand how people behave. I think the last part is really important. You learn to work with people which is really difficult sometimes since we all come from different backgrounds, we have different personal limitations and different ways of expressing ourselves. Learning to deal with this and finding a point of balance is the most difficult and most rewarding part of a Board mandate.

6) If you could apply for this position again, would you do it?

No, I wouldn’t do it. EESTEC is an Association that gives opportunities to people to grow. By taking the same position for another mandate I would remove the opportunity from someone else to learn and grow by being in this position.

This is the main reason we have a yearly change of mandates, in order to give opportunities for new people to evolve and take the lead inside the Association.

Personally, the main thing is to have a vision. What do you want to achieve from this position? After someone answers that question they need to check if they have the necessary skills in order to achieve this vision. The skills are something that can be obtained during the mandate as well. We have a lot of Teams and processes dedicated to the education of our members. Finally, another important qualification is dedication. Whoever applies must be sure that they can devote themselves to EESTEC and the position for the next one and a half years. All the Board positions are very time demanding and the workload is big so having motivation, dedication and a vision is really important.

8) Lastly, what memories do you think you’ll keep from this experience?

I will keep all the memories from all the travelling that we did as Board and the moments when I helped people through this mandate. Furthermore, I will remember and am proud of all the goals that have been achieved during this mandate, most specifically the transition to the new mailing system and the publishing of the new EESTEC website among other goals.

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7) What qualifications should someone have to apply for the position?

EESTEC Career Expo Explore Europe is coming during Spring Congress!!!

What is it?

EESTEC Career Expo is the first event that will put students from all over Europe in contact with different companies and universities from around the continent so that they can present students with the different opportunities and chances they offer. This will happen both online and live, with the chance for participants to attend conference presentations (presentations given by the company’s or university’s representatives), online booths (direct contact with company representatives) and visit live stands (direct contact with company representatives in person).

When is it?

It will take place the 18th of May, online sessions can be attended through the Congress website (springcongress.eestec.net) and it will happen live at the Spring Congress in Belgrade.

EESTEC Career Expo provides a great chance for students who want to learn more about the professional future that’s waiting for them and those who already want to search for a place to start working or a university for an exchange.

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