Rising Stars 2026

The IEEE Rising Stars 2026 Conference brought together students, Young Professionals, and industry leaders for two days of technical learning, leadership development, and community engagement. As a key initiative within IEEE Region 6, the event reflected IEEE’s ongoing commitment to advancing technology and empowering emerging professionals.

Programming began at 9:00 AM with concurrent sessions across the Galleria and Lotus rooms. Featured topics included Digital Twins and Reality Modeling (Bentley Systems), the Young Professionals Leadership Workshop with industry speakers, and Student Activities sessions, and the interactive Zombie Apocalypse Workshop.

The Project Showcase Display demonstrated impressive student innovation applied to engineering solutions. After lunch, DigiKey, in collaboration with Microchip and Arduino, hosted a hands-on technical workshop that encouraged interactive participation.

Day 2 opened with a 5K Run, followed by breakfast and the official opening session, which included the 2026 Pitch Competition and a keynote on “AI in Hollywood.” The FCC Exam was also administered for participants seeking certification.

Additional sessions covered innovation in accessible design, digital storage technologies, entrepreneurship, IEEE standards, AI governance, leadership development, public speaking, and AI-powered cybersecurity topics. Project judging and sponsorship activities maintained strong engagement throughout the day. Rising Stars 2026 successfully embodies IEEE’s mission of advancing technology for humanity by:

• Promoting student and Young Professional engagement
• Bridging academia and industry
• Encouraging leadership development
• Showing innovation and applied research
• Supporting professional certification pathways

The conference continues to serve as a flagship event within IEEE Region 6, reinforcing the strength of our community and the importance of investing in emerging leaders.