Candidate for 2019-2020 Tunisia section Secretary:

Name: Wael Ouarda

E-mail: wael.ouarda@ieee.org

Organization: National School of Engineers of Sfax, Tunisia

IEEE Membership: Professional Member, active for 6 years

<Curriculum Vitae>

 

Biography (without IEEE activities):  Wael OUARDA obtained his PhD in Computer Science from the Research Groups in Intelligent Machines (ReGIM-Lab) at the National School of Engineers of Sfax (ENIS) in 2017. He is currently a Professor-Researcher in Computer Science at the University of Sfax and quality manager at the ReGIM-Lab since 2016. Dr. Wael OUARDA has more than 30 publications in prestigious conferences and journals in the field of Artificial Intelligence. His research focuses on Image Analysis (biometric, medical and social) with deep learning techniques of neural networks for the representation of features and for classification. Dr. Wael OUARDA has been an active IEEE member since 2012.

 

Position Statement: Apart from the specific details of the various governance related duties assigned to the IEEE Secretary, I believe that significant new challenges are now confronting the IEEE. As a large IEEE Section in the world, the IEEE’s mission is to serve both its members and humanity at large has become increasingly complex and fractionated. The most important item in the published description of responsibilities of the Secretary is that the person who holds the position is expected to “. . . identify, encourage, nominate and mentor candidates for higher volunteer positions within IEEE in Tunisia.” More than ever before, the IEEE Tunisia section needs to nurture and groom future leaders who have the experience needed to help guide our core businesses in publishing, conferences, and emerging forms of technical information sharing, while at the same time having the wisdom and insight needed to be effective in allocating highly constrained resources to the humanitarian activities that have become increasingly important in recent years in Tunisia.

 

Major IEEE Accomplishments: I currently serve as IEEE Tunisia Young Professionals Chair for 2018. I have also been a IEEE ENIS SB Chair. I serve now as Counselor for IEEE ENIS SB. I also currently serve on the IEEE Polytech Sfax SB as a Counselor. I have been an active member of the IEEE Tunisia Section Officers. This extensive experience, from both YP and SB perspectives, has put me in a unique position to continue to be an effective leader on the Board of IEEE Tunisia Section and a proactive Secretary of the Governance Committee.
In 2015, I received the Outstanding SMC Student Chapter Award as a chair for  outstanding leadership and service to the members of the SMC society.
In 2018, I recieved the Second prize of Ming the Gap Contest.

 

Past IEEE positions and Awards: 

  • IEEE Tunisia Young Professional Chair 2016-2018
  • IEEE ENIS SB Counselor 2018
  • IEEE ENIS SB Chair 2015-2017
  • IEEE ENIS SB Secretary 2013-2015
  • IEEE Polytech Sfax Counselor 2018
  • IEEE ENIS SPS Student Chapter Chair 2012-2013
  • IEEE ENIS SMC Student Chapter Chair 2013-2015

 

Qualifications: I currently serve as a Researcher at the University of Sfax. I have also been an engineer from the National School of Engineers of Sfax. I served as a Quality Manager for the ReGIM-Lab. I also currently serve on the Sfax Smart City Living Lab. I have been an active member of the Organization Committee of several International Conferences. Presently, in both my engineering and research leadership position with the University of Sfax and as an active volunteer within IEEE in Tunisia at its highest level, I have been working in very specific and successful ways to address strategic, management, and governance issues and approaches in both organizations. I have found that my responsibilities with my team and my professional positions in quality assurance have provided both experience and perspective that I apply to the volunteer leadership positions I hold in IEEE Tunisia Section.