- Professional development at IEEE conferences
Turn conference attendees into a community.
IEEE HIVE is a half-day or full-day, project-based program co-located with IEEE conferences. Students and young professionals work in cross-disciplinary teams on a challenge drawn from the conference theme, build the professional skills universities rarely teach, and pitch to a panel of experts.
Your conference could host the next HIVE.
Bring HIVE to your conferenceWhy HIVE
Conferences teach technology. Careers need more.
IEEE holds more than 2,300 conferences a year in over 190 countries. For most students and young professionals the experience is passive: listening to technical talks. Mentoring and professional skills are largely absent, and many attendees leave without meeting the parts of IEEE that would serve them after university.
Already in the room
Attendees have traveled and are in one place, so there is no acquisition cost.
Experts on site
Conference speakers and Society leaders are there to mentor and judge.
IEEE, experienced firsthand
Members and non-members meet IEEE's value directly, and the host gets standout programming for students and YPs.
What is IEEE HIVE
Professional development you practice, not just hear about.
Each edition centers on a challenge from the host conference theme. The challenge is the vehicle. The skills are the destination.
Experience
Learning by doing: expert workshops, a team sprint on a real challenge, and a pitch to judges.
Community
Mentorship and networking across disciplines, career stages, and countries, with local volunteers.
Engagement
Icebreakers, pre-event teasers, and follow-up that keep participants connected to IEEE.
How HIVE works
One challenge. Four stages.
A tested arc that fits a half-day or full-day slot inside the host conference program.
01
Learn
Expert-led sessions in the morning: the method and the context teams will need.
02
Build
Cross-disciplinary teams of 4 to 5 sprint on the challenge, with mentors circulating.
03
Pitch
Teams defend their thinking to a judging panel. Judges score the reasoning, not the slides.
04
Grow
Feedback from judges and mentors, recognition, and connections across IEEE.
What participants practice
The skills that turn technical ability into a career.
No prior experience with the challenge topic is required. Teams are cross-disciplinary by design.
- Understanding who you solve for
- Framing the problem first
- Design thinking
- Systems thinking
- Applying IEEE standards
- Collaboration
- Storytelling
- Pitching
Editions
Proven at IEEE flagship conferences.
Upcoming editions first, then the ones that shaped the program.
IEEE HIVE @ TEMSMET 2026
Challenge. A theme-aligned challenge with IEEE Standards as a design input, through a Standards Discovery Lab.
IEEE HIVE @ ENERGYCON 2026
Challenge. Four energy challenges: grid resilience in a heatwave, mobile network energy, AI data center demand, and household behavior.
IEEE HIVE @ ISEMV 2026
Challenge. Designed for Whom? An immersive health concept built around one precisely defined user.
For conference organizers
Give your student and YP delegates something to remember.
HIVE plugs into your program as a ready-made, high-engagement session. Start the conversation about six months before your conference.
Your conference provides
- A slot in the official program
- A room set for team work (round tables)
- AV and reliable Wi-Fi
- Catering for the session
- Promotion and registration
- A local volunteer lead
The HIVE team provides
- A challenge co-developed with you
- Session content and facilitation
- Mentors and judges, co-sourced with you
- Promotional assets and logo
- Prizes
- Travel for HIVE facilitators
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Who can take part?
Final-year undergraduates and early-career professionals from any engineering or technical discipline. IEEE members and non-members are both welcome.
Is HIVE a hackathon or a startup competition?
No. HIVE is a professional development program. The challenge gives teams something real to practice on; the skills are the point.
How long is a HIVE session?
A half day or a full day, scheduled inside the host conference program.
Do I need experience with the challenge topic?
No. Teams are cross-disciplinary by design, and the morning sessions give everyone the context they need.
How big are the teams?
Teams of 4 to 5, cross-disciplinary by design, with about one mentor per team. Most editions welcome 40 to 60 participants.
How do we host HIVE at our conference?
Contact the HIVE team about six months before your event. Together we align the challenge with your theme and agree on roles.
Next edition
Bring IEEE HIVE to your conference.
Tell us about your conference, dates, and expected student and young professional attendance. We will reply with next steps and the Organizer Playbook.
