2019 Award Recipients
As this academic year comes to an end, it is our pleasure to announce the recipients of The President’s Award for Excellence in Student Leadership for 2019. This award was established in 2008 to recognize exceptional students who have a record of academic achievement, consistently demonstrate leadership, and make significant contributions to our community.
Anis Ben Arfi: Doctor of Philosophy, Electrical and Computer Engineering
While completing his graduate studies, Anis Ben Arfi served as president of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Students’ Association, the Graduate Engineering Students’ Consortium, and the Calgary Optics and Photonics Students’ Society. He also co-founded the University of Calgary Amateur Radio Club.
As the Southern Alberta Young Professionals vice-chairperson for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), he led a team of graduate student volunteers to organize talks, industry mixers and monthly field trips for other students. Serving as the chairman of the IEEE Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology Southern Alberta Section, Ben Arfi teamed up with a local maker movement to gather more than 60 graduate students to design solutions for people with special needs in Calgary. He also acquired funding and worked with his IEEE team to develop a variety of programs, including solar electrification and computer maintenance workshops, for children at Siksika First Nation.
Ben Arfi currently chairs the IEEE Canada Humanitarian Initiatives Committee and the IEEE 2020 Rising Stars Conference, an event where 350 of the top engineering students from around the world spend three days in Las Vegas learning from world-class speakers and mixing with industry leaders.