News

A Journey From Engineering Student to IEEE Foundation Leader

For Professor Saurabh Sinha, IEEE Fellow and Executive Dean of Engineering at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, the journey with IEEE began not with grand ambitions but with a simple desire to learn and grow. What started as a student membership evolved into a lifelong commitment to transforming engineering education and expanding its reach to communities worldwide.

“I joined simply to learn and stay updated, but over time, the organization became much more than a resource. It became a community,” recalls Saurabh.

The trajectory of his IEEE involvement changed dramatically in 2002 when Saurabh’s paper was accepted for the IEEE Region 8 Student Paper Competition, which took him to Cairo, Egypt, for his first major IEEE event. “It was eye-opening,” he reflects. “I met people from different countries and disciplines who were united by curiosity and a willingness to share what they knew.” 

Saurabh would go on to obtain his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electronic engineering, as well as his doctorate in the same field, from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He is also a graduate of Wharton’s Advanced Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia, PA, USA. As an established researcher, he has authored or co-authored over 140 publications in peer-reviewed journals, books, and conference proceedings. After serving at the University of Pretoria and the University of Johannesburg, in South Africa, too, for over 22 years, as an academic, institute director, executive dean, and deputy vice-chancellor, Saurabh moved to New Zealand in mid-2023, while retaining visiting affiliations at both the University of Johannesburg and Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA. He is also a former IEEE Vice President and Board member, as well as the recipient of a prestigious U.S. Fulbright grant.

During his journey, Saurabh recognized that engineering education becomes truly meaningful when students work with real communities and witness the tangible impact of their work on a human level. As a proud member of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (HKN), he has a strong connection to the student community and the IEEE network. Saurabh states, “HKN celebrates scholarship, character, and attitude, and I’ve enjoyed helping nurture those qualities in students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and the University of Johannesburg. Supporting mentoring and member inductions has been a simple but meaningful way to engage with the next generation of engineers.” This belief, combined with his firsthand experience with HKN, led him to co-found EPICS-in-IEEE (Engineering Projects in Community Service) with Kapil Dandekar, building on the original formulation from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.

“When I helped pilot a community-based project course at the University of Pretoria, the shift in student mindset was immediate and lasting,” Saurabh explains. “Students who might have thought of engineering as a set of calculations began to ask different questions: Who is this for? What problem are we trying to solve?”

Today, EPICS-in-IEEE has reached more than 50 countries, connecting universities, non-profits, student teams, and communities. The program’s success lies in its simple yet universal purpose: use engineering to make a genuine difference.

“Once students have worked on a project that affects real people, they never see engineering in the same way again,” Saurabh notes. “They begin to understand that technology is not just something we build, but something that shapes lives. That realization stays with them long after they graduate.”

For Saurabh, the values of engineering and philanthropy align naturally—both require trust, accountability, and a willingness to work toward outcomes that may take years to materialize. He saw service as an IEEE Foundation board member as an opportunity to combine technical excellence with societal impact in a structured, long-term way.

When he looks to the future, he sees an opportunity for IEEE to forge a stronger, more visible connection with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. “Engineering is part of every one of those themes,” Saurabh emphasizes. “Whether we are talking about digital access, healthcare technologies, renewable energy, or resilient infrastructure, engineering is woven into the solutions.”

As a donor, Saurabh’s most meaningful experiences have come from seeing EPICS-in-IEEE projects develop in unexpected ways. During a visit to the Frugal Innovation Hub at Santa Clara University, California, USA, he observed how the program had become a connecting platform for students from diverse parts of the world, “What I value most is that giving has never felt like a transaction. It has felt like contribution, partnership, and responsibility,” he reflects. “When students are trusted to work on real problems with real communities, they grow in ways that traditional coursework cannot deliver. Philanthropy allows us to invest in the next generation, not by telling them what to do, but by giving them the tools and freedom to lead.”

One of the clearest lessons Saurabh has learned in his work is that meaningful change rarely happens through a single organization acting alone. The most successful outcomes happen when there is shared motivation and shared responsibility, not just shared funding. He believes IEEE and the IEEE Foundation can serve as a connector of not only resources, but of people who have a shared purpose and are looking for the right channel to do it.

“Then…,” Saurabh concludes, “collaboration becomes impact, not just activity.”

Join Saurabh and connect with the impact of IEEE by visiting the IEEE Foundation’s donation page, where you can support the many programs that help future engineering students focus on important areas of technology.