Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1327102
84 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2021 A year of COVID-19 has taught the world how to operate more efficiently in the virtual amphitheater, and IPC is no different. While standards development meetings have histori- cally occurred via teleconference, and most internal IPC business is conducted remotely, our larger programs—training and educa- tional activities, full-day development meet- ings, hand-soldering competitions, etc.—have always relied on face-to-face collaboration. In the case of IPC Design, which debuted only weeks before lockdowns commenced around the world, it became clear that the initial model would not provide affiliate members with the promised experience. The drawing board was dusted off—although it didn't have too much time to collect dust—and a newer, sleeker model was devised. Before explaining what has changed, it's important to detail what hasn't changed. The key goals of IPC Design have always been to facilitate the professional development of its affiliate members, to enable professional net- working among its affiliate members, to pro- vide liaison between the professional printed board designers (and electronics manufactur- ing experts, in general) and academia, and to generally advance the art and science of printed board design engineering. It is still free to join and will always be free. As for the changes, in short, IPC Design is now easier to join than ever. By migrating the community to Discord—a popular, free- to-use, multi-platform community building tool—many of the steps to affiliate have been eliminated, and the time-to-join has been reduced to 10 minutes (or less). There are no more forms to sign or bylaws to understand. The affiliation form can be found on the new IPC.org [1] , which has recently been updated to offer a better experience to users—both IPC members and visitors alike. 2021 Updates to IPC Design Design Circuit by Patrick Crawford, IPC–ASSOCIATION CONNECTING ELECTRONICS INDUSTRIES