PISCATAWAY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IEEE, the world’s largest association for engineering and technical professionals, will begin offering a new electronic membership (e-Membership) option to individuals in developing nations, when its 2011 membership year begins on 16 August.

The e-Membership option is designed to make IEEE membership more affordable to more people. According to IEEE President and CEO, Pedro Ray, “One way to promote diversity in our membership and thus sustain our success as a leader among technical professional societies worldwide is to make sure we don’t present barriers to prospective members. For those engineers and technical professionals in countries where salary levels are low compared with other countries, the cost of membership is one such obstacle.”

The new option will be offered to both new and renewing professional grade members who live in one of 153 countries where the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is under $15,000 (based on data provided by the United Nations).

e-Membership is a paperless membership option with reduced annual base dues – just US$50 – as compared to the traditional membership option base dues which cost US$136. Not only can these members save 63% off the cost of traditional membership, there is less environmental impact too, since all membership materials and publications will be delivered electronically.

IEEE members enjoy many other benefits including a monthly subscription to IEEE Spectrum magazine; IEEE memberNet, the online community where members network with others who have similar technical interests; discounts on registration fees at more than 900 IEEE-sponsored conferences; 227 e-books and 110 e-learning tutorials. Plus, only IEEE members have access to special subscription packages for the more than 2.5 million documents in the IEEE Xplore digital library. These benefits often pay for the cost of membership many times over.

Learn more about e-Membership at www.ieee.org/emember.

IEEE and its members inspire a global community through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities.

IEEE is the world’s largest professional association for the advancement of technology with more than 400,000 members in over 160 countries. Through its global membership, IEEE is a leading authority on areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Learn more at www.ieee.org.