IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC)
Technology for the Benefit of Humanity // Colorado Schools of Mines, USA / October 22-25, 2025

Registration Open for GHTC 2020

Registration for GHTC 2020 is now Open.

Early Registration Extended to 28-September

NEW – reduced attendees rates: $300 IEEE Member & $100 IEEE Student/LM

The 10th IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (IEEE GHTC 2020) is an international flagship conference sharing practical technology enabled solutions addressing the needs of underserved populations and resource constrained environments around the world and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG).

GHTC 2020 will have an exciting and varied program of workshops, panels, keynotes and technical presentations.

GHTC 2020 takes place ONLINE (PT) from Thursday October 29 through mid-afternoon Sunday November 1. See the preliminary program schedule here.

Click button to go to registration page to view options and fees; special 10th Anniversary Discounts are courtesy of support from Financial Patrons, including IEEE HAC and IEEE Seattle Section.

 

Student Poster Contest

Our 3rd Student Poster Contest will be held online Thursday afternoon following the paper sessions. Cash prizes will be awarded. Deadline for submission of abstracts is 2-October.

 

Workshops

Thursday morning choose from two 1/2 day workshops included with your GHTC full registration:

  • Applied Machine Learning for Social Good

This session will focus on topics around the usage of machine learning (ML) methods in order to assist social good applications.

  • Fundamentals of Off-Grid Electrical Systems

This half-day tutorial covers the contextual, technical, and practical implementation aspects of off-grid electrical systems in developing countries. The mini/micro-grid design process is discussed.

  • NEW! Sustainable Project Design Considering COVID-19 Pandemic

This IEEE HAC-sponsored workshop will offer a training on humanitarian technology (HT) project design and implementation, especially considering the during and after COVID-19 pandemic situations from local and global perspectives.

Special Sessions

Special Sessions and Plenaries are being organized and will be scheduled soon, among them:

  • Panel: “Technology-enabled climb up the demand-driven energy ladder: Interoperability, Growth, All-access”

Ensuring universal, affordable and sustainable energy access is one of the biggest societal challenges of our time. Decentralized, bottom-up approaches, such as solar home systems and microgrids, have emerged as a response to shortcomings of the centralized grid approach, but affordability, scalability, path to growth and long-term sustainability remain a challenge.

  • IEEE HAC Panel on COVID-19

How HAC/SIGHT responded to the COVID pandemic – vision and process improvements with examples of some funded projects and building collaboration opportunities.

  • GHTC 10th Anniversary

Panelists will discuss the history of GHTC and the future of IEEE Advancing Technology for Humanity.

  • Presentation: “Swoop Aero deploying the future of healthcare through air logistics”

Swoop Aero is contributing to developing the future of healthcare delivery to accommodate the changing demands of a rapidly urban world population. The integration of air logistics, alongside traditional transportation and operated as a single network, provides the opportunity to transform the supply chain and harness the full power of data. The talk will outline how the Swoop Aero medical drone logistics solution is catalysing the development of tomorrow’s health supply chain

  • Presentation: “The Origins of Silicon Valley: Lessons for Startups in Developing Nations”

Why did Silicon Valley come into being? What lessons can be learned by startups in developing countries? This talk explains why the tube, IC, SW, ML, AR/VR and AI industries are centered there.

 

Keynotes and remarks

Currently confirmed speakers include:

  • Toshio Fukuda, 2020 IEEE President and CEO;
  • Kathy Land 2020 IEEE President-elect, and
  • Melisa Sassi, Chair of IEEE’s Digital Intelligence Working Group, “Digital Literacy”.

 

Technical Program

The Technical Program (see preliminary list of papers) features 24 sessions:

  • 3 sessions on Agriculture & Food Security (SDG2)
  • 5 sessions on Good Health and Well Being (SDG3)
  • 1 session on Quality Education (SDG4)
  • 2 sessions on Clean Water & Sanitation (SDG6)
  • 3 sessions on Affordable & Clean Energy (SDG7)
  • 4 sessions on Connectivity & Communication in Support of Development
  • 3 sessions on Disaster Mitigation, Preparedness, Response & Recovery
  • 3 sessions on Other UN SDGs

Specific Session assignments for papers can be viewed in EDAS here.

 

GHTC 2020 is sponsored by IEEE Region 6, IEEE Seattle Section and IEEE SSIT (Society on Social Implications of Technology) with technical sponsorship by IEEE-USA, IEEE CES, EMBS, MTT-S, PES and IEEE Smart Village.