engineering programme. BEM has a duty to ensure the quality of engineering education / programme attains the minimum standard comparable to global practice; hence the necessity to establish the Engineering Accreditation Council( EAC) in year 2000.
The EAC is the body delegated by BEM for accreditation of engineering degrees in Malaysia. It is represented by BEM, the Institution of Engineers Malaysia( IEM), the Malaysian Qualification Agency( MQA) and the Public Services Department. It also includes representatives from the Malaysian Council of Engineering Deans and Quality Assurance Unit of Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia.
Washington Accord
In the late 1980s, accreditation authorities in the United Kingdom and the United States of America realized that there would be mutual benefit in harmonization of standards and processes. If standards in one country were accepted by another, then mobility of engineers could be made easier and qualifications recognized more quickly.
Equivalence at the level of a licensed or registered engineer need not imply equivalence at each prior level, since different countries place different emphases on the nature and extent of the experience and knowledge to be acquired after graduation. However the emerging convergence in engineering practice, driven by globalization, is being reflected in university engineering education, and achieving recognition of the substantial equivalence of the outcomes from engineering degree programmes has become a practicable option, not only within the countries which have traditionally been linked by a common language and traditions. Such recognition is the key objective of the agreement known as the Washington Accord.
The Washington Accord achieves its primary objective by mutual verification of the accreditation procedures and criteria applicable to academic programmes in each country. These procedures and criteria address issues such as the content and mode of delivery of the programmes, student assessment, the internal quality assurance mechanisms maintained by the universities, the academic and professional expertise of the faculty, and the level of physical and financial resources available to deliver the programmes.
The Washington Accord is a multinational agreement that recognizes the substantial equivalency of engineering degree programmes accredited by the responsible bodies in each of the signatory countries. It recommends the graduates of accredited programmes be mutually recognized as having met the academic requirements for entry into the practice of engineering in any member country; and establishes that graduates of programmes accredited by the accreditation organizations of each member nation are prepared to practice engineering at the entry level.
Admission to the Washington Accord is an endorsement that the engineering education systems of the member nation have demonstrated a strong long-term commitment to quality assurance in producing engineers ready for industry practice in the international scene.
Sydney Accord
Taking cue from the Washington Accord, a similar Agreement was developed for Bachelor degree programmes for Engineering Technologists or Incorporated Engineers, called the Sydney Accord( SA), which was signed in June 2001. Signatories have full rights of participation in the Accord; qualifications accredited or recognised by other signatories are recognised by each signatory as being substantially equivalent to accredited or recognised qualifications within its own jurisdiction.
Dublin Accord
The Dublin Accord is an agreement for the international recognition of Engineering Technician qualifications. Currently there are eight signatories to the Dublin Accord; Australia, Canada, Ireland, Korea, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States.
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