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Updated: April 10, 2025

Engineering conference will delve into workforce training and funding options in Maine

People sit and stand on a stage at a lectern and long table. Photo / Courtesy IEEE-USA A previous Innovation, Workforce and Research Conference hosted in Little Rock, Ark., by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE, and geared toward jumpstarting innovation and workforce development.
By Laurie Schreiber

The world's largest technical professional organization is hosting a conference in Portland on artificial intelligence, with a focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and small business in the Northeast.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE, has scheduled the "Innovation, Workforce and Research Conference AI Summit" at the University of Southern Maine’s Portland campus on May 15.

FILE PHOTO
Brien Walton, chair of Maine Venture Fund

The event convenes stakeholders from industry, government and academia to network, learn and discuss federal and state technology initiatives and other government programs.

AI policy

Speakers will include David Daigler, president of the Maine Community College System; Brien Walton, chair of the Maine Venture Fund; Brian Whitney, president of the Maine Technology Institute; and Scott Kleiman, policy director for the economy and workforce for the state of Maine. 

Sessions include:

  • How Maine can develop and support its technical workforce
  • Putting AI to work in Maine
  • Small business and defense partnerships
  • Small business and non-defense partnerships
  • How AI is changing the semiconductor workforce
  • State and federal AI policy trends
  • Innovation and intellectual property
  • How to find funding 
  • Canada’s AI interest and potential partnerships
Brian Whitney, President of the Maine Technology Institute

Technical professionals

In addition to IEEE’s electrical and electronics engineering core, its membership has long been composed of engineers, scientists and allied professionals, including computer scientists, software developers, information technology professionals, physicists, medical doctors and others, Ashanthi Maxworth, the event’s Maine-based representative, told Mainebiz.

Maxworth, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineer at USM, said a focus of the institute includes artificial intelligence. 

The conference travels from state to state and tries to emphasize topics particularly relevant to the host state, she said.

In Maine, that means small technology businesses and entrepreneurs looking to network and find funding, resources and training.

The conference gives Maine and USM exposure in the technical professions world and is likely to bring attendees from New Hampshire, Boston and even New Brunswick, she said.

IEEE, headquartered in New York City, serves members through global network of geographical units, publications, web services and over 2,000 annual conferences and events worldwide. Its fields of interest have expanded beyond electrical and electronics engineering and computing into areas such as micro- and nanotechnologies, ultrasonics, bioengineering, robotics and electronic materials.

As of 2020, IEEE comprised over 395,000 members in 160 countries. 

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