CORAL GABLES, FL: This year, the Institute of Industrial Engineers Southeastern Regional Conference was hosted by the University of Miami. The conference was filled with activities offering professional and social advancement.

Before the conference experience could begin, UF IIE students would first have to make their way down to Coral Gables, home of the University of Miami, from the Swamp. After much planning and carpooling, all met up safely at the hotel where UM students were waiting to fill everyone in on the itinerary for the weekend. Also at the hotel were students from an array of different schools, including: UCF, Auburn, Mississippi State, LSU, among others.

Throughout the conference, there were a number of professional development events.The first morning of conference was already packed with activities.UF students made their way to the UM campus dressed to impress. They split up and went on a multitude of great plant tours lead by companies like FedEx and Caterpillar, as well as places such as the Port of Miami and Miami International Airport. Within these plant tours they got to experience such things as the sheer size of Miami’s port, as well as the process and equipment that goes into creating a CAT machine. Students then returned to UM to take part in a small Career Fair that boasted companies such as Nielsen, GE, and Visa. On the following days, they attended events such as a lunch and workshops hosted by Nielsen, and a dinner and presentation hosted by FedEx.
These events allowed UF students to learn more about the field of Industrial and Systems Engineering, as well as about the companies they spoke with and what they are looking for in an employee.

In addition to interacting with companies, UF students had the opportunity to meet and speak with students from all over the southeast. From them, they learned how things are done in other IIE chapters and how life is at their schools in comparison to UF. One of the great reasons to attend conference is the ability to meet a number of memorable people during time at socials, dinners, and team building activities.

However, all UF IIE students agreed, the best result of IIE conference is the relationship that one builds with their classmates. Getting to know the group of people who will be around you for the next few years and having an amazing experience with them is well worth the price of conference, which, by means of fundraising and sponsorship from the department, ultimately happened to be free. One last thing all the students that attended the conference will take away from their experience is just how proud they are to be a part of UF IIE and the University of Florida Industrial and Systems Engineering Department.

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Guest post by ISE student Christopher Perez