The Institute - June 2021 - 60

I was able to meet Robin Podmore, "
she says. Podmore, an IEEE life Fellow
and cofounder of IEEE Smart Village,
became her mentor.
The two met when he visited
Nairobi to train systems operators and
engineers for Smart Village projects.
After the training session, Chelangat
approached Podmore about some of
her ideas on bringing power to underserved
communities in Kenya.
He offered her an internship with
Smart Village as the manager of a
project in the Maasai Mara National
Reserve.
Chelangat spent six months in the
Name Mercy Chelangat
Employer
IEEE Smart Village
Title Business and fund
development director
Member grade Member
Alma mater Moi University,
in Eldoret, Kenya
that, as a woman, she couldn't handle
the equipment and might hurt herself.
Chelangat felt she was being
discriminated against and decided to
leave the company to volunteer full time
for the IEEE PES Kenya Chapter.
" Leaving the company was quite
difficult, but I don't regret it, because
it was through my volunteer work that
reserve assessing electrification, hardware,
and networking needs for homes,
schools, and businesses.
The solar panels the program
installed at the Maa Trust headquarters
not only powered staff houses and
businesses but also the school's new
vocational IT hub. The trust plans to
use the hub-built by engineers and
locals-to train teachers how to use
technology in the classroom.
The vehicles the villagers drove were
used to shuttle tourists around the
reserve and also to transport goods. But
the trucks relied on diesel fuel, which
is costly. To reduce air pollution and
costs, volunteers are researching which
Get to Know IEEE Women in Engineering
IEEE Women in Engineering is a global network of members and volunteers dedicated to promoting female engineers
and scientists, as well as inspiring girls to follow their academic interests in a career in engineering and science. Here's a
breakdown of the number of its affinity groups and its membership.
PERCENTAGE OF GROWTH OF IEEE
WIE AFFINITY GROUPS IN 2020
REGION 9
South America:
21 %
REGION 8
Europe,
Middle
East,
and Africa:
18 %
REGION 10
Asia and
Pacific Rim: 46 %
950
WIE AFFINITY GROUPS
REGIONS 1-6
United States:
11 %
60
THE INSTITUTE
JUNE 2021
REGION 7
Canada:
4 %
COUNTRIES WITH
MOST AFFINITY
GROUPS FORMED
IN 2020:
INDIA: 19
BRAZIL: 3
TUNISIA: 3
FEMALE:
12,200
58.4%
20,900
NUMBER OF MEMBERS
MALE:
5,900
28.2%
UNSPECIFIED:
2,800
13.4 %
148
VIRTUAL EVENTS
HELD IN 2020
electric vehicles could be comfortably
driven on the rough terrain. Electric
trucks could be charged by the
microgrid the engineers installed.
Chelangat is also working to help
Kenyan telehealth centers solve Internet
connectivity and power challenges
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
" Mercy is highly motivated and
passionate about IEEE Smart Village
and IEEE, " Podmore says. " There is still
a huge amount of work to be done, but
Mercy has all the right stuff to succeed. "
Active volunteer
A year after joining IEEE as a student
member, Chelangat and other IEEE
members founded the IEEE PES Kenya
Chapter in 2018. She became its secretary
and treasurer.
As the IEEE Region 8 lead for the
IEEE PES Women in Power group,
Chelangat works to increase its
membership. The group aims to get
more women into the power industry,
and it works to promote women to
leadership positions.
" I'm passionate about empowering
women engineers, " she says. " There
are so many challenges we face, so I
took up this role to try and also give
women in Region 8 credibility and a
community. "
SOURCE: IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING; PHOTO: MERCY CHELANGAT

https://www.incsys.com/team/robin-podmore/ https://www.pes-women-in-power.org/ https://www.pes-women-in-power.org/

The Institute - June 2021

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