IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC)
Technology for the Benefit of Humanity // Villanova University, USA / October 23-26, 2024

Welcome to GHTC 2019

Welcome from the Chair

A Cairde,

Céad Míle Fáilte romhaibh go léir to the 9th annual IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference hosted by IEEE Region 6, Seattle Section and IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology, Technical Co-Sponsored by IEEE-USA, IEEE Consumer Electronics Society, IEEE Engineering Medicine and Biology Society, IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, IEEE Power and Energy Society and IEEE Smart Village, with Global Good and IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee as Patrons.

IEEE GHTC brings together stakeholders from around the world sharing a common interest in addressing societal challenges at home and abroad. Supporting achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), GHTC provides a platform for researchers, technologists, engineers, policy makers and practitioners to share knowledge and experiences, build capacity and facilitate relationship building.

This year’s program features plenary panels focused on “Disaster Recovery, Disadvantaged Communities and Displaced People” and “Health-Related Issues in Resource Constrained Environments”. This is complemented by parallel tracks showcasing activities in Energy, Health, Agriculture, Connectivity, Education, Disaster Mitigation, Water and Sustainable Development.

We have extended the duration of the Plenary Panels, not just to allow more time for discussion but also for delegates to share personal experiences and insight. We are building on the participatory workshop sessions introduced last year through the introduction of a number of Unconference Sessions in the program, allowing delegates to influence topics and issues to be discussed, and share expertise.

Lunches and social events will provide opportunities for delegates and presenters to cluster at specific tables dedicated to discussion and knowledge sharing in specific thematic areas. Please take advantage of these opportunities – all of us have knowledge and experiences to share as well as lessons to learn.

Keynote speakers this year include Neil Sahota, Chief Innovation Officer, University of California (Emerging Technologies Research & Policy Institute), Irvine; Tom Coughlin, IEEE-USA President; and Tess Russo, Portfolio Lead and Research Scientist at Global Good.

On Thursday, there are several special events open to all conference delegates:

  • Half-day Workshops (IoT and AI architecture for humanitarian services, Applied Machine Learning for Social Good and Fundamentals of Off-Grid Electrical Systems)
  • Student Poster Competition
  • Young Professionals Reception

On behalf of the Conference Committee I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this year’s conference – in particular the experts who volunteered their time to provide constructive, actionable feedback to improve the quality and impact of papers in the conference proceedings. Please take the opportunity during and after the conference to share your ideas of how we should continue to innovate as we start preparing for the 10th anniversary of GHTC in 2020.

 

Prof. Paul M Cunningham
Chair, IEEE GHTC 2019
Dublin, Ireland

 

 

 

Announcing Silver Sponsor – Global Good

 

The IEEE GHTC 2019 Committee is pleased to announce Global Good will return as a Silver Sponsor.

Millions of people suffer and die each year in poor countries from causes that humanity has the scientific and technical ability to solve. Funded by Bill Gates and focused on a shared vision with Nathan Myhrvold, Global Good invents technology to solve some of humanity’s most daunting problems. We do this by collaborating with leading humanitarian organizations, forward-looking governments, research institutions, and corporate and private sector partners that bring our inventions to market.

See www.intellectualventures.com/globalgood

Seattle WA – September 10, 2019

 

IEEE GHTC 2019 – Networking and Community Building

 

From: Prof. Paul M Cunningham, GHTC 2019 Conference Chair

Dear Colleagues,

We are all very excited now that the Advance Programme has been published, and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in Seattle in October. Find detailed information on the program on our newly updated website.

NETWORKING & COMMUNITY BUILDING

We hope that you will be able to schedule your time to arrive on Thursday and go home on Sunday afternoon or evening.

This will allow you to actively participate in networking, knowledge sharing and community building opportunities throughout the conference:

  • Complementary Workshops and undergraduate Student Poster Competition Thursday afternoon;
  • Young Professionals Reception on Thursday evening – TBC;
  • Networking session with cash bar on Friday evening;
  • Networking session with cash bar followed by Subsidised Networking Dinner on Saturday evening), and
  • A number of interesting thematic and unconference sessions scheduled on Sunday morning.

Our objective is to make it easier for presenters and delegates alike to engage with their peers in specific thematic areas of interest, exchange knowledge and experience as well as good practices, and build collaboration opportunities.

Continue reading →

Announcing Student Poster Competition 2019

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 8-OCTOBER

The IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) is the flagship IEEE forum for presenting and discussing humanitarian technology innovation and deployment. IEEE GHTC 2019 invites undergraduate students to submit abstracts for the Student Poster Competition. Download flyer (PDF)

Students are invited to send in ideas or designs for developing projects/products supporting the Key focus areas of GHTC 2019 include (but are not limited to):

Continue reading →

Registration Open for GHTC 2019

Registration for GHTC 2019 is now Open.

The 9th IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (IEEE GHTC 2019) 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 2019 will have an exciting and varied program of workshops, panels, keynotes and technical presentations.

GHTC 2019 takes place from Noon Thursday October 17 through mid-day Sunday October 20. See the preliminary program grid here.

Thursday afternoon features a set of 1/2 day workshops included with your GHTC full registration:

  • Applied Machine Learning for Social Good
  • Interactive sand-pit workshop: Modern Energy Cooking Services
  • Fundamentals of Off-Grid Electrical Systems

A Student Poster Contest and Student Job Fair are being planned for Thursday afternoon. Watch for the announcement and (separate) registration information.

Plenary Panels addressing:

  • Disaster Recovery, Disadvantaged Communities and Displaced People (Friday)

    Panelists
    John Berglund, Territorial Emergency/Disaster Services Director, The Salvation Army USA
    Stanley Atcitty, Navajo Nation
    Jim Conrad, IEEE MOVE, UNC-Charlotte USA

  • Health (Saturday)

Panelists
Tim Wood, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Skye Gilbert, Deputy Director, Digital Health, PATH

  • Energy (IEEE Smart Village, TBA)

Keynotes and remarks will include: Neil Sahota, UC Irvine (AI for good); IEEE-USA President Tom Coughlin, and others TBA.

The preliminary Technical Program (see preliminary list of papers) features 32 sessions:

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

Several Special Sessions TBA.

Session assignments for papers will be posted soon.

GHTC 2019 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.

 

GHTC 2019 Announces Plenary Panelists

Seattle, WA (25-Apr-19) – The 2019 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) announces its preliminary plenary panels and panelists. The Plenary Panels are:

  • Disaster Recovery, Disadvantaged Communities and Displaced People Panel
  • Health-Related Issues in Resource Constrained Environments Panel

Disaster Recovery, Disadvantaged Communities and Displaced People Panelists

  • John Berglund, Territorial Emergency/Disaster Services Director, The Salvation Army USA
  • Dr. Stanley Atcitty, Navajo Nation
  • James Conrad, IEEE MOVE Community Outreach

Health-Related Issues in Resource Constrained Environments Panelists

  • Tim Wood, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Skye Gilbert, Deputy Director, Digital Health, PATH

See the Keynotes and Plenary page for details.

 

GHTC 2019 Submission extension

 

The deadline for GHTC 2019 submissions has been extended to 17-May (Final) (from 19-April).

  • We are still seeking a few more reviewers; the peer-review process is a critical part of ensuring the quality and novelty of the papers and presentations at GHTC. If you are willing to be a reviewer, please complete the brief application form linked here.  Please note that the timeline for paper submission and review has changed from previous years, with reviews starting in April.  We expect that each reviewer will be asked to review 4 to 6 submissions.
  • GHTC 2019 authors whose papers are accepted can apply for the IEEE HAC Conference Participation Program. This program provides a number of partial scholarships to support participation at 2019 conferences with a sustainable development and humanitarian technology focus or component. The objective is to facilitate more extensive networking, sharing of experiences and partnership building, and reduce potential economic barriers to participation by IEEE volunteers active in the sustainable development space. See article here for more info.

 

The Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) is the flagship IEEE forum for presenting and discussing humanitarian technology innovation and deployment. The technical focus of the Conference is complemented by an integrated understanding of broader contexts—economics, policy, culture, environment—that impact successful humanitarian technology implementation.

The ninth annual GHTC will take place in Seattle, Washington, USA, October 17– 20th 2019. It is the perfect venue for those from the public, private, education and research, societal, funding and donor sectors to join their peers. Submissions accepted thru 19-April.

Focus areas for IEEE GHTC 2019 include:

  • Agriculture & Food Security (SDG2)
  • Good Health and Well Being (SDG3)
  • Quality Education (SDG4)
  • Clean Water & Sanitation (SDG6)
  • Affordable & Clean Energy (SDG7)
  • Disaster Mitigation, Preparedness, Response & Recovery
  • Communication/Connectivity in Support of Development
  • Other Related UN SGDs (e.g. SDGs 9, 11, 12, 14)

See topic details at http://ieeeghtc.org/author-central/call-for-papers/

Three types of submissions are possible for presentation at GHTC:

  • Full Papers are appropriate for mature work or completed projects and should not exceed eight pages;
  • Short Papers are appropriate for early stage projects or authors wishing to share a snapshot of results-in-progress, experiences and perspectives, and should be three to four pages in length including a short reference section.
  • Oral-Only (Poster) Presentations are appropriate for work-in-progress, projects in the pre-implementation stage as well as an option for practitioners, policy makers or community representatives who do not want to write a paper. Oral-Only submissions should be described in one or two pages.

All submissions are in PDF/A format.

Short Papers and Oral-Only Presentations will be accepted for presentation either during a paper session or poster session at the discretion of the Program Committee.

Complementing the 2019 IEEE GHTC Conference Proceedings, accepted papers presented during the conference will also be submitted for publication in IEEE Xplore®.

See the author submission process and guidelines at www.ieeeghtc.org/author-central.

Important Dates

Full Paper, Short Paper and Oral-only submission for review deadlineApril 19, 2019
May 17, 2019
Special Sessions (e.g. demo, panel, discussion) deadlineJune 15, 2019
Notification of acceptance / revision requirements (19-Apr deadline)May 19, 2019
May 27, 2019
Notification of acceptance / revision requirements (17-May deadline)July 1, 2019
Submission of accepted Full Paper/Short Paper and Oral-only PresentationJuly 31, 2019
Author Copyright forms deadlineJuly 31, 2019
Author early registration deadlineSeptember 16, 2019

 

IEEE HAC Event Grant and Scholarship Program for GHTC 2019

 

IEEE GHTC 2019 is pleased to announce it has received an Event Grant from the IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee (HAC).

The IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee (HAC) supports strengthening the capacity and impact of IEEE volunteers, staff and OUs involved in sustainable development and humanitarian technology-related activities around the world. IEEE HAC facilitates necessary education and training, builds strategic partnerships, provides funding for projects and events and supports IEEE SIGHT (Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology) activities.

GHTC 2019 authors whose papers are accepted may apply for the IEEE HAC Conference Participation Program. This program provides a number of partial scholarships to support participation at 2019 conferences with a sustainable development and humanitarian technology focus or component. The objective is to facilitate more extensive networking, sharing of experiences and partnership building, and reduce potential economic barriers to participation by IEEE volunteers active in the sustainable development space.

Eligibility:

Those eligible to apply for support include the following individuals who have tangible results, experiences, and lessons learned to share.

  • Active IEEE SIGHT volunteers
  • Other IEEE volunteers
  • Local practitioners, local community, and local partner representatives actively collaborating with IEEE members in the sustainable development and humanitarian space

Read the Call for Applicants here (PDF). To apply, once your paper is accepted, fill out the online application for support: 2019 HAC Conference Participation Program Application.

Note there are monthly deadlines on the last Thursday.