IFMBE SECRETARIES COMMITTEE MEETING BRIEF REPORT12th NBC CONFERENCE
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| Present: |
Stefan Sigurdsson (Iceland) Fernando Infantosi (Brazil) A'Kos Jobba'gy (Hungary) Dov Jaron (USA) Walter Chang (Taiwan) Helena Grip (Sweden) Maria Linden (Sweden) Kalju Meigas (Estonia) Alan Murray (UK) Ratko Magjarevic (Croatia) Tsair Kao (Taiwan) Hans Nygaard (Denmark) Michal Grodzki (Poland) Jari Viik (Finland) Heikki Terio (Sweden) Keith Copeland (UK) Marc Nyssen (Belgium) |
| Excused: |
Jiri Holcik (Czeck Republic) Laura Roa (Spain) Jos Vander Sloten (ESEM) Richard Kirsner (Australia) Marcello Bracale (Italy) by A. Evangelisti in person Makoto Kikuchi (Japan) by Walter Chang in person |
Approved as such
The minutes, carefully written by Keith Copeland were approved without amendments. The minutes can be downloaded from the Federation's web site (www.ifmbe.org)
IFMBE President Dov Jaron stresses the importance of IFMBE's website and the electronic newsletter as a means of communication with the associated societies and their individual members.
Next year, the world conference in Sydney should be a major success.
Attention should go to the IUPESM/IFMBE policy: here a proposal should be countered. Namely, the proposal to change the rhythm of tri-annual world conferences into being held every four years. This would totally disrupt the current system. IFMBE members are urged to attend the IUPESM G A and vote in favour of the current tri-annual structure.
IFMBE is setting up new more-direct means of communication with the "membership at large" via mail exploders and a web-based on-line poll system, that will enable us to make decisions and take action, based upon wide approval by the members.
Secretary General Heikki Terio urges secretaries to be more prompt in responding to his requests and in transmitting the IFMBE messages to their members.
Moreover, annual reports should contain the following: the number of members, correct names, positions and addresses (including email) of their officers.
Federation Treasurer Mladen Poluta sent in a report, stressing that associated societies should urgently settle their Federation dues.
Alan Murray, the Federation Journal Editor reports on the journal and on the conference proceedings. If all goes well, the delay from receipt of a new paper until publication is reduced to 3 months! Paper submission is very straightforward, provided guidelines are followed!
Free access to the Federation Journal "Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing" will be provided with immediate effect from a web subscription form, via the Federation's home page: www.ifmbe.org.
Ratko Magjarevic, editor, reports on the IFMBE Newsletter in which he has taken three new initiatives:
Moreover, reports such as these from the affiliated societies will be published in the newsletter rather than presented in 'hand out' form during the meeting.
The Secretary General reports an interest to join the IFMBE by biomedical engineering societies from the following countries: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Mongolia, Uruguay, Malaysia, Venezuela, New Zealand, France, Georgia, and Egypt.
Venezuela's request could be agreed upon in Sydney, next year.
Keith Copeland asks whether there is any news from India, but except "individual" contacts, no institutional request is reported.
Walter Chang reports on several activities in the Asian-Pacific region, the next conference being in Singapore, December 2002
Fernando Infantosi tabled a written Coral Liaison Report and stressed they are planning the 3rd Latin American Congress on biomedical engineering in Joao Pessoa, Brazil in September 2004.
Mladen Poluta has submitted a combined report for the Working Group for Developing Countries and African Region; announcing the start of the "International Centre for Healthcare Technology Management (ICHTM); this report will appear in the next IFMBE News.
Stefan Sigurdsson (Iceland)
Fernando Infantosi (Brazil)
A'Kos Jobba'gy (Hungary)
Walter Chang reports for Japan, on behalf of Makoto Kikuchi
Jari Viik (Finland)
Maria Linden (Sweden)
Kalju Meigas (Estonia)
Ratko Magjarevic (Croatia)
Tsair Kao (Taiwan)
Hans Nygaard (Denmark)
Michal Grodzki (Poland) on behalf of T. Palko
Marc Nyssen (Belgium)
Reports were also obtained by E-mail from:
Laura Roa (Spain)
Jiri Holcik (Czech Republic)
Richard Kirsner (Australia)
For full details on these reports, please consult the next issue of IFMBE News via the web.
Next year, during the World Conference in Sydney, the tri-annual IFMBE Administrative Council elections will take place, motivated candidates are encouraged to step forward as several key positions will become vacant:
Moreover, candidates are requested for consideration to chair the Secretaries Committee after 2003.
Dov Jaron (and Jean-Pierre Morucci via personal contact) repeat the request for nominations to be awarded in Sydney:
Please send in names of candidates and a brief motivation to the IFMBE SECRETARIAT!
ICSU recognition of biomedical engineering results in the potential support of affiliated societies by their national academies. Some societies have bees successful in obtaining this support and this has resulted in professional and institutional recognition. All other societies are encouraged to speak out about which procedures are to be activated in their countries!
To encourage the presence of more secretaries from affiliated societies, certain incentives need to be offered: one possibility being the waiving of part of or all of the conference fee; possibly conditionally: provided more than one delegate accompanies the secretary.
Dov Jaron suggests that the result should be "financially neutral".
Walter Chang proposes to work out a questionnaire in order to evaluate the situation of the secretaries in the different affiliated societies.
A mail-list server has been set up to reach all secretaries at once.
The question of how to develop this further to reach possibly all individual members now arises. There are 3 possibilities:
Here, some secretaries say they cannot provide the emails of their members, and say they cannot convince their boards to do so.
This should be worked out on a "per country" basis.
Meanwhile, it is of UTMOST IMPORTANCE that secretaries forward the messages of general interest such as the availability of new newsletters and the availability of free access to the Federation Journal to their members!
See IFMBE website
Two are of immediate importance (unfortunately the dates overlap)
Fernando Infantosi stresses the need for two-page papers requested for conferences, smaller abstracts would be considered "not serious" by national authorities, to provide travel support to the authors of such papers.
Moreover, the best two-page papers can be considered as "short papers", to be expanded into full papers for the journal.
Dov Jaron mentions the creation of a new IFMBE companies division. Member-companies for this division are now being actively recruited.
An IUPESM brochure has been created, to report on the contributions of biomedical engineering to health care. This is targeted toward politicians, etc ... to get support.
Copies can be obtained via Dov
Keith informs about the Alfred Nightingale Prize in the UK
Keith Copeland also reminds the assembly that the World Conference is to be named "Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics" / "Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering" on alternative occasions. This will be repeated for the Seoul Conference.
Heikki Terio reminds us that the IFMBE logo has been "renewed". Affiliated societies are urged to date the IFMBE logo's they carry and to enhance and update their linking to IFMBE pages.
The next meeting of this committee will be in Sydney, Australia during the 2003 World Conference at the end of August that year. Precise location and time will be communicated as soon as possible.
It is of utmost importance that most if not ALL secretaries are present or at least represented next year.
The Icelandic hosts are thanked for their kind hospitality and those present are invited to attend the Secretaries Dinner to continue the discussions and contacts in the relaxed atmosphere of an excellent Reykjavik restaurant!
Marc Nyssen
Secretaries Committee Chair
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