INGENIEUR
‟
I am proud to say our Malaysian Engineering education is
very comprehensive as the Engineering Accreditation Council
(EAC) and Engineering Technology Accreditation Council
(ETAC) have played significant roles in it.
How do you gauge the standard of Malaysian
engineers and also our engineering graduates
internationally? What are BEM efforts in
ensuring that our graduates meet the global
standard in engineering education?
I am proud to say our Malaysian Engineering
education is very comprehensive as the Engineering
Accreditation Council (EAC) and Engineering
Technology Accreditation Council (ETAC) have
played significant roles in it. They assess our
engineering degrees from local universities are
up to mark with international requirements. Rest
assured, we are doing a good job.
EAC and ETAC are responsible for conducting
accreditation of all engineering, engineering
technology and engineering technician education
programmes in Malaysia, so that graduates of
these programmes can be registered with the
BEM before providing engineering services at the
graduate and professional levels.
The stringent standards set by the EAC and
ETAC are benchmarked against the international
standards upheld by the International Engineering
Alliance (IEA). These standards are embedded
in the Washington, Sydney and Dublin Accords
covering the engineering, engineering technology
and engineering technician education standards
respectively. BEM is a full signatory of these
Accords and is periodically monitored to ensure
adherence. Malaysian engineering degrees
therefore enjoy substantial equivalency with
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countries like United States, Russia, United
Kingdom and Australia plus others which are
signatories of the Accords. Our graduates are not
required to be re-examined in terms of academic
qualification.
As a Council Member of Malaysian Quality
Agency (MQA), I attend meetings with other
Government departments such as the Ministry of
Education and the Ministry of Human Resources.
Our collaboration to improve standards never
stops. We work as a team to keep abreast of
engineering education.
With the coming of 4.0 IR as a disruptive
innovation and commercialisation, how
would you like to advise young engineers
and undergraduates in engineering faculties
preparing for the new ICT era?
The disruptive power of 4.0 IR is very clear in that
many jobs or professions may be replaced or
reduced with the coming of 4.0 IR which is already
at our doorsteps.
We need to keep track of these new
developments and adapt, seeing them not as a
threat but rather as an opportunity. Take for an
example, CADD had replaced the conventional
draughtsman. Now the 3D printing is gathering
popularity and soon it will be the norm of the
manufacturing industry to move into that area. In
short, engineers have to be IT savvy to face the
onslaught of 4.0 IR. - Inforeach