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PROFESSIONAL
CHARTERED ENGINEERS |
PCE
|
UAE
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UNITED
ARAB EMIRATES GROUP |
UAE
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ACCREDITATION & RECIPROCITY
DABCE/JBM (UK)& ABET (US)
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With 25% of EC Registrants working
outside the UK (and over 10% of these not being UK citizens), there is a need
to achieve International reciprocity of Professional Engineering qualifications
and so achieve greater mobility and opportunities for Professional Chartered
Engineers.
Steps towards such ends are reflected
in the establishment of the Engineers’ Mobility Forum and the International
acceptance of standards set out by bodies such as the Engineering Council
(EC) in its UK-Specification for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC)
used by its 35 EC licensed Professional Engineering Institutions (PEI).
Engineers’ Mobility Forum (EMF) (International Register of Professional
Engineers) |
Full Members of the EMF are the respective
Professional Engineering Organisations in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland,
Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa, UK and USA.
TOP
Academic qualifications are key components
in the stages to qualify as a Professional Engineer.
Accreditation of such academic qualifications is therefore important,
as is the international acceptance of such qualifications. The following
agreements towards such reciprocity and mutual recognition between signatory
bodies of Engineering education accreditation processes have been signed
by National Professional Engineering bodies representing specific countries
Washington
Accord (1989) (eg for UK CEng) - UK, US, Canada, South Africa,
Hong Kong, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand
Sydney
Accord (2001)
(eg for UK IEng) – UK, Canada, South Africa, Hong Kong, Australia and New
Zealand
Dublin Accord (2002) (eg for UK EngT) – UK, Canada, Ireland,
South Africa,
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Some potentially relevant Accreditation
organisations include:
DABCE
UK Degree Accreditation Board for Chartered Engineers (17
PEI incorporating JBM)
JBM
UK Joint Board of Moderators (incorporating
3 PEI - ICE, IStructE and IHIE) (with EC link)
ABET
US Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology (30
US Engineering Institutions)
CHEA
US Council for Higher Education Accreditation (47
organisations including ABET)
CAA
UAE
Commission for Academic Accreditation (Ministry
of Higher Education & Academic Research)
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Many International and National Standards
for Engineering projects, processes and products have been developed and propagated
by Professional Engineering Institutions in the UK, USA and elsewhere.
Examples include ICE Engineering & Construction Contract (ECC/NEC),
IEE Wiring Regulations (now BS 7671 ‘Requirements for Electrical Installations’)
and many US ASCE, ASME and other Standards.
We attach a table showing approximate
relationship between EC licensed PEI and those which are members of DABCE/JBM
and ABET. We use acronyms for US
Institutions. Full titles may be
checked on the web. The tabulated result highlights the fact that the disciplines
covered by nearly 50 EC linked Institutions (ie 35 EC licensed PEI plus
14 EC Professional Affiliates) – are matched by only 17 in DABCE and 30
in ABET.
There are differences between the two
UK-US sets of Professional Institutions and the fields they cover eg:
- While
the ICE works closely with IStructE in the UK the US ASCE appears
to cover civil and structural areas plus Architectural Engineering, Construction
Engineering and their Technologies.
- the
IEE includes Industrial Engineering, Production Engineering and Manufacturing
Engineering. Disciplines resulting
from the merger of IEE with IMfgE some years ago, while US has separate
institutions ie IEEE, IIE. and SME
- the
IMMM which resulted from a merger covers the areas of US SMME, TMS and NICE plus possibly MRS,
- while
IMechE, IGasE and InstE (Energy) cover petroleum and petrochemical
related works these functions are largely covered by SPE in US.
- while
IHT, IHIE clearly cover their defined highway functions, as do CIWEM,
IWO and InstPlumb related to water there are no specific matching bodies
in ABET - possibly all are embraced by ASCE.
- while
IQA seems to match the work of ASQ there is no EC licensed PEI for
Hygiene, Health and Safety to match US HPS, AIHA, ASSE – although there
are related professional bodies & executive.
- TWI
(Welding) activity
is included in the functions of TMS (Materials, Metals & Minerals) by
ABET.
- The
EC has no specific
professional/educational organisations as does ABET’s NSPE (National Society
of Professional Engineers, NCEES (Natl Council of Examiners for Engineering
& Surveying)
- RICS
(Survey) in
UK is not an EC licensed body while ACSM (Surveying & Mapping) is in
ABET.
There would appear to be scope for
further logical merging and consolidation of Institutions in UK and US.
Prepared
by PCE UAE Chair, Er Alister I M Macmillan BSc, CEng, FIMC, FICE, FIEE, FIMechE,
UAE, 2004 11 01