The Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers branch is holding a social networking event at Eduardo’s, 214 E. Lincoln Highway, tonight, so that you can learn more about the engineering field.

The event, which begins at 6:30 p.m., includes dinner and speakers at 8:30 p.m. The event is $5 for IEEE members and $12 for non-IEEE members.

IEEE is a technical organization with an international reputation, including more than 377,000 members worldwide. The primary motive is to provide a forum to network, share knowledge, integrate and come up with better solutions.

The purpose of tonight’s event is to give students an opportunity to come in contact with professionals in the field.

“The IEEE student branch at NIU was established in 1971,” said Irfan Mohammed, NIU-IEEE’s secretary, “with the primary intention to set excellence and perfection in the field of electrical engineering and related technology beyond the mere bookish knowledge.”

Mohammed expects industrialists, alumni, faculty members, students and counselors from the Career Planning and Placement Center to attend.

“Our main goal is to provide a platform for interaction between industrialists, faculty and students and try to bridge the gap between corporate expectations and institution’s teachings,” Mohammed said.

Professionals from Hamilton Sunstrand, Philips, Siemens Technologies, British Petroleum and U.S. Robotics are expected to attend.

“Our branch counselor Dr. Zinger will give a brief introduction about the NIU-IEEE student branch,” Mohammed said. “We will then have impromptu speakers from industry mainly describing about industrial expectations, future prospects and a typical day of an engineer in the firm.”