The IEEE Fellow degree is awarded by the world's largest professional engineering association (IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Fellow) and its board of directors. Special membership status is awarded to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the fields of electrical engineering and information technology. Bernhard Jakoby is a recipient of this prestigious award in recognition of his outstanding work and for mechatronics at the JKU Linz.

Prof. Bernhard Jakoby remarked; "In many areas, Mechatronics represents a key digitalization technology and my specific field of research, sensor technology, liaises between physical reality and electronics, and now - in many cases – in the digital world. By creating the world's first academic degree program in Mechatronics, the JKU realized the sign of the times early on, and I also consider this award for my research contributions to serve as a strong sign of the international visibility for mechatronics in Linz."

JKU Rector Meinhard Lukas added: "This highly esteemed award by the professional engineering association is only given upon a nomination for extraordinary merit and solely by the IEEE Board of Directors. Congratulations on receiving this award!"

IEEE, the world's largest professional engineering association, has over 400,000 members located in 160 countries. Key areas of interest include electrical engineering and information technology. Among other things, the IEEE publishes 30% of the world's scientific literature in electrical and electronic engineering as well as in computer science and has developed over 1,300 active industry standards. In addition, each year, the association (co)sponsors nearly 1,700 international scientific conferences and symposia.