The Systems Council Distinguished Lecturer Program promotes the field of systems engineering to the scientific community and the public at large. The goal of the program is to increase awareness about topics relevant to Systems Council by creating a pool of subject matter experts and scholars to present to IEEE and Systems Council Chapters, Sections and other venues such as universities and companies.
How to Apply to Become a Systems Council Distinguished Lecturer
The requirements to be a speaker for the Systems Council DL program:
- Presentation topic is relevant to Systems Council mission and objectives
- Topic has been successfully presented in at least one significant public setting, such as a conference
The Systems Council reserves the right to invite speakers to join our program, based on their demonstrated expertise and speaking engagements. Invitees will be asked to complete a speaker form and follow the same process as volunteer speakers.
If you are invited or would like to volunteer to become a speaker for the Systems Council DL program, please complete our speaker enrollment form along with your presentation slides.
The DL Chair will convene the DL Review Committee to review your slides and decide whether to accept your application. For accepted speakers, your presentation topic may be accepted “as is” or “with changes,” Additionally, on behalf of the Systems Council, the DL Chair may request that you elaborate or extend your presentation. The Chair may also ask you to use a Systems Council slide template if you are not using a standard template from your employer. Additionally, will be asked to preface/suffix your presentation with IEEE Systems Council slides (i.e., standard descriptive slides about the Systems Council and the Distinguished Lecture Program).
Note: DL Committee members may request to become a speaker with the Systems Council, however, they will be ineligible to participate in the review of their slides.
For more information or questions about System Council’s DL Program, please contact the Distinguished Lecturers Chair.
Please note: The deadline to submit an application to be a Distinguished Lecturer for 2024-2026 has passed.
Request a Distinguished Lecturer
The Systems Council DL program is primarily for Systems Council Chapters, Student Branch Chapters, and Universities with Systems Engineering-related curricula. Systems Council Distinguished Lecturers may also be accessed by any IEEE entity, but note that the Council provides the major travel reimbursement for DL travel only for those lectures delivered to Systems Council Chapters and Universities in accordance with the Financial Guidelines and the Council travel reimbursement guide. To request a speaker: To request a speaker:
- Contact the speaker to establish availability and a tentative date.
- Submit a speaker request form at least 6 weeks prior to the tentative date.
Financial reimbursements for the major travel will not be provided without prior authorization.
The requestor is responsible to provide the speaker with details of the presentation site, expected attendance, and other arrangements. The speaker provides the chapter with travel arrangements and presentation needs (audiovisual, helpers, materials, etc.).
During the presentation, the chapter officer should keep a record of the topic, total attendance, and notes on technical content, oral, and overall presentation. Afterward, the chapter should fill out the Evaluation Form, and send it to DL Chair as soon as possible, but no later than one month after the event.
A chapter may arrange up to three DL visits per calendar year. Approvals must be obtained in advance. Additional visits can be requested subject to the availability of funds, with preference given to those chapters who have not requested a speaker during the program year.
Financial Guidelines
The Systems Council will reimburse actual transportation costs up to $1,000 (USD) per lecture or lecture tour when invited by a Council Chapter or authorized University to travel within a continent and will reimburse actual transportation costs up to $1,500 (USD) per lecture or lecture tour for traveling across continents (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America). A lecture tour is defined as a series of one or more talks on a round trip from the DL home base. Travel between the venues is reimbursable, but all local expenses (accommodations, meals, etc.) are the responsibility of the inviting organization(s). Multiple talks during lecture tours are encouraged.
For lectures given to a qualified University, if the venue is suitable it is recommended to invite the local Section or Systems Council Chapter should one exist to attend although attendance may have to be capacity limited. Suitable venue implies that the lecture is one where outside attendees can be readily accommodated, vs. in a classroom where the lecture is coincident with a curriculum of study and external attendees would be inappropriate
Speakers must purchase lowest-fare basic economy class round-trip tickets, in accordance with the Council expense reimbursement guide, and schedule travel during cost-saving days whenever possible, to stay within the reimbursable limit. Economy Plus and similar upgraded economy fares are not allowed per IEEE rules; see the Systems Council expense reimbursement guide for additional details. Speakers should also be conscientious of not exceeding local expenses that are reimbursed by the host Chapter, as agreed to with the host chapter.
Exceptions to Systems Council travel guidelines must be approved in advance by the President. Send any travel exception requests, with an explanation of the reasons for the exception, to the President before submitting the DL request form.
Expenses and reimbursements will be submitted via Concur. Additional resources can be found here:
Note: To avoid IRS tax forms, no honoraria will be awarded, and actual receipts must be submitted for all expenses.