IEEE WIE Malaysia Section successfully hosted the 2017 IEEE WIE International Leadership Summit (WIE ILS)  held at the Berjaya Times Square Hotel, Kuala Lumpur on 18-19 September 2017. The summit was officiated by Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Advisor, Women Entrepreneurs and Professional Development, Prime Minister Department.

With the theme, “Empower, Aspire to Inspire”, the summit was designed to inspire attendees through keynote speeches and invited sessions from prominent women figures. The program was divided into four track which are leadership, empowerment, inspiration and entrepreneurship.

During the summit, five keynote speeches were delivered by Prof. Bozenna Pasik-Duncan, 2017 IEEE-WIE Global Chair, Datin Paduka Ir. Dr. Siti Hamizah Tapsir, Director General, Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, Professor Datin Paduka Dr. Aini Ideris, Vice-Chancellor, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Professor Dato’ Dr. Noraini Idris, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation), Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI) and Professor Dr Azni Zain Ahmed, Assistant Vice Chancellor from Universiti Teknologi MARA.

In addition, there were also five invited speakers who shared their experiences to inspire the participants. On the 2nd day, participants were engaged with 16 track speakers from Malaysia, Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan and Iraq.

IEEE WIE ILS was attended by 129 participants, including international participants from Germany, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and United States. Encouraging feedback from participants was obtained after the summit and overall rating for the event is 8.9 out of 10. The summit was also received good coverage from the local newspaper.