25YearsWashingtonAccord A5booklet FINAL
25YearsWashingtonAccord A5booklet FINAL
25YearsWashingtonAccord A5booklet FINAL
Neil Caughey
Contents
Foreword _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4
Overview _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8
A Brief History________________________________________________________________________________________________10
Signatories ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12
Graduate Attributes_________________________________________________________________________________________14
Perspectives___________________________________________________________________________________________________18
We are indeed grateful for the substantial but largely voluntary contributions of many
Washington Accord members to the development and maintenance of the standards
and processes to date. However, the future educational challenges are still considerable
and will continue to depend on the engineering profession to maintain the momentum
and standards.
4
Professor Hu Hanrahan, Chair, Washington Accord
For 25 years the Washington Accord has provided
a mechanism for mutual recognition of graduates
of accredited programmes among its signatories.
This period has seen significant change in
the world of engineering work in engineering
education. National accreditation systems and
the Accord itself have evolved to meet changing
needs building on the vision of the original six
signatories in 1989. The 1990s saw great debate
about engineering education in many countries,
culminating in a remarkable consensus to
move from input-focused accreditation criteria
to an output-based specification. By 2005 the Washington Accord, then with eight
signatories and soon to expand significantly in Asia, had developed its Graduate
Attributes, summarised in this brochure. These provide an exemplar of an outcomes-
based specification for programmes that provide the educational base for professional
engineers. The outcomes approach affords education providers freedom in the design
of programmes. Best practice in accreditation has been captured in the Accord Rules
and Procedures. The Washington Accord, and the associated Sydney and Dublin
Accords, are committed to providing the benchmarks for graduates and accreditation
practice as globalisation intensifies.
The ongoing development and operation of the Washington Accord rely critically
on the signatories delegates who participate in meetings and working groups as
well as the reviewers who make up the teams that evaluate applicants for signatory
status and conduct periodic monitoring of signatories. Their valuable contribution
is greatly appreciated.
Improve the global quality, productivity and mobility of engineers by being an accepted
independent authority on best practice in standards, assessment and monitoring of
engineering education and professional competence.
The Washington Accord sits under the IEA alongside the Sydney and Dublin Accords.
6
The first and
subsequent
meetings were
characterised
by a visionary
attitude and
mutual respect.
Dr Finbar Callanan,
Former Director General,
The Institution of Engineers
of Ireland
Virandra Babu
Overview
The development of a professional engineer to the level required for independent
practice or licensure/registration has two stages. The education stage, normally
provided by an externally accredited programme of four or five years post-secondary
school, is followed by a period of supervised training while gaining experience in
engineering practice. The individual may then have his or her competence assessed,
and be eligible for recognition as a competent individual engineering practitioner.
Graduate Attributes:
indicate that programme
objectives are satisfied
8
The Washington Accord is a self-governing, autonomous agreement between national
organisations (signatories) that provide external accreditation to tertiary educational
programmes that qualify their graduates for entry into professional engineering
practice. The signatories undertake a clearly-defined process of periodic peer review
to ensure each others accredited programmes are substantially equivalent and
their outcomes are consistent with the published professional engineer graduate
attribute exemplar.
Signatories agree to grant (or recommend to the relevant national registration body,
if different) graduates of each others accredited programmes the same recognition,
rights and privileges as they grant to graduates of their own accredited programmes.
By these provisions, the Accord facilitates mobility of graduates between signatory
jurisdictions and deeper understanding and recognition of their engineering education
and accreditation systems. Amongst the signatories educational providers, adherence
to local accreditation requirements that are consistent with the professional engineer
graduate attribute exemplar contributes to international benchmarking of programme
outcomes.
There are currently 15 signatories to the Washington Accord that together deliver over
7,000 programmes producing graduates that are significantly similar in competencies.
This booklet outlines the history and development of the Washington Accord, as the
leading international educational agreement for professional engineering qualifications
and as the inspiration for further educational accords and professional competence
agreements that collectively work together as the IEA.
The signatories committed to: continue to share relevant information; allow their
representatives to participate in each others accreditation processes and attend
relevant meetings of their organisations; and to make reference to this agreement
in publications listing accredited programmes.
After rather informal operation in its early years, with bi-annual meetings in odd-
numbered years and simple rules and procedures, the growth in interest by other
organisations indicated the need for more structure and formality. Formal rules and
procedures were developed for a six-year peer-review of signatories and for admission
of new signatories, following a period in provisional status.
The Sydney and Dublin Accords for engineering technologists and engineering
technicians were initiated in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Together with the three
agreements for engineering practitioners, the IEA was formed in 2007, and the IEA
Secretariat was created to assist with the administration of the accords and agree-
ments and their development.
10
The admission to the Washington Accord of the accreditation organisations in Hong
Kong China and South Africa in the late 1990s and Japan, Singapore, Chinese Taipei,
Korea and Malaysia took the number of signatories to 11 by 2009. Since that year,
the accrediting organisations in Turkey and Russia have become signatories. Cur-
rently there are also five organisations with provisional status. Many of the new
and provisional signatories were mentored by established ones as they developed
their systems.
Whilst accord recognition strictly applies only to education programmes offered within
a signatorys territorial boundaries, the need to accommodate developments in cross-
border education has required development of rules for out-of-territory accreditation
and recognition. The rules agreed to in 2008 also allow for assistance to emerging
economies that may be too small to operate their own accreditation system. The rules
are currently under review.
The Accord recognises that the members of the European Network for Accreditation
of Engineering Education (ENAEE) operate similar accreditation processes to similar
standards within Europe, and its authorised members provide the Eur-ACE label to
accredited programmes. Four of the Accord members are also authorised members of
ENAEE. There is a formal mechanism between the IEA and ENAEE to maximise mutual
understanding and potential benefits of the two organisations.
12
The Accord requires a body that wishes to become a signatory to first apply for
provisional status. The body must demonstrate it has an accreditation system that
meets basic requirements. To proceed to signatory status the body must demonstrate
substantial equivalence of its standards and processes in a review by a team drawn
from the signatories, and be approved by unanimous agreement of the signatories.
Chinese Taipei
Hong Kong
Singapore Malaysia
Australia
South Africa
New Zealand
The key features of the graduate attributes are summarised in the following tables. A
defining characteristic of professional engineering is the ability to work with complex-
ity and uncertainty, since no real engineering project or assignment is exactly the same
as any other (otherwise the solution could simply be purchased or copied). Accordingly,
the attributes place as central the notions of complex engineering problems and
complex problem solving.
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WA4: Conduct investigations of complex problems using research-based
knowledge (WK8) and research methods including design of experiments,
Investigation
analysis and interpretation of data, and synthesis of information to provide
valid conclusions.
WA12: Recognise the need for, and have the preparation and ability to
Life-long learning engage in, independent and life-long learning in the broadest context
of technological change.
Nicki Fleury
16
Complex engineering problems have a range of attributes. At least some of the
following may be encountered within a professional engineering education
programme:
EA1: Involve the use of diverse resources (and for this purpose
Range of resources resources include people, money, equipment, materials,
information and technologies).
The founding signatories of the Washington Accord agreed that graduates of each others
accredited programmes were expected to possess these attributes and therefore were
prepared to enter engineering practice. The Washington Accord model has become the
international gold standard for mutual recognition of engineering education.
George Peterson
Washington Accord Secretariat, 20012007
There are many examples of crucial team efforts but I believe the devising and
steering through of a paid standing Secretariat was very important. The Secretariat
made all other work more effective and achievable. There were two aspects of the
Washington and other Accords and forums in the Alliance that impressed me most:
the acknowledgement of each others cultures and the joint work to encourage new
members to participate in the work and leadership needed. Many Asian countries went
swiftly from applicants to active participants and leaders, improving and extending our
activities. For all these reasons I found this a most stimulating part of my career.
Dr Peter Greenwood
Washington Accord Chair, 20022007
18
When Professor Jack Levy convened the first meeting of representatives of the initial
six countries to discuss a possible accord, we hardly foresaw the international success it
would eventually become. I remember very well how the first and subsequent meetings
were characterised by a visionary attitude and mutual respect which greatly expedited
the early development of the Accord.
Another significant and lasting memory for me was chairing the meeting in Dublin
which welcomed Hong Kong into the Accord as the first new member after the original
six. It was indeed a genuine pleasure and privilege to work with so many dedicated
colleagues and good friends during those early formative years.
Dr Finbar Callanan
Former Director General, The Institution of Engineers of Ireland
(Now Engineers Ireland)
The Dublin Accord was signed in 2002 to cover equivalence and international
recognition of engineering technician qualifications. The current eight signatories,
for Australia, Canada, Ireland, Korea, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom
and United States, are the same organisations as the signatories to the Sydney Accord
and Washington Accord. Most Dublin Accord qualifications are diplomas of two years
duration post-secondary school. The graduate attribute specification refers to well-
defined engineering problems.
20
The Engineers Competence Agreements
The International Professional Engineers Agreement (IPEA) was originally created in
1997 as the Engineers Mobility Forum agreement and adopted its new name in 2012.
This is a multi-national agreement between engineering organisations in the member
jurisdictions. The agreement creates the framework for the establishment of an
international standard of competence for professional engineering, and then empowers
each member organisation to establish a section of the International Professional
Engineers (IntPE) register.
Members have full rights of participation in the agreement; each operates a national
section of the IntPE register; registrants on these national sections may receive credit
when seeking registration or licensure in the jurisdiction of another member.
The current 16 members are Australia*, Canada*, Chinese Taipei* (Chinese Institute of
Engineers), Hong Kong China*, India (Institution of Engineers India), Ireland, Japan*
(Institution of Professional Engineers Japan), Korea* (Korean Professional Engineers
Association), Malaysia*, New Zealand*, Singapore*, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the United
Kingdom and the United States* (National Council of Examiners for Engineering
and Surveying). There are three provisional members from Bangladesh, Pakistan
and Russia*. Where the representative member is not indicated, it is the same as the
Washington Accord signatory. Representatives marked * are also members of the
APEC Engineer agreement which operates to the same standard of competence as
the IPEA, and has, in addition, members from Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.
The APEC Engineer agreement was established in 2000 by the member economies of
the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation agreement.
Australia
Engineers Australia WA SA DA IPEA IETA APEC
Bangladesh
Bangladesh Professional Engineers, Registration Board (BPERB) WA IPEA
Canada
Engineers Canada WA IPEA APEC
China
China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) WA
Chinese Taipei
Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (IEET) WA SA
22
India
National Board of Accreditation (NBA) WA
Indonesia
Institution of Engineers APEC
Ireland
Engineers Ireland WA SA DA IPEA IETA
Japan
Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (JABEE) WA
Korea
Accreditation Board for Engineering Education of Korea (ABEEK) WA SA DA
Malaysia
Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) WA IPEA APEC
New Zealand
Institution of Professional Engineers WA SA DA
New Zealand (IPENZ) IPEA IETA APEC
Pakistan
Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) WA IPEA
Russia
Association for Engineering Education of Russia (AEER) WA IPEA APEC
Singapore
Institution of Engineers Singapore (IES) WA IPEA APEC
South Africa
Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) WA SA DA IPEA IETA
Sri Lanka
Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL) WA IPEA
Thailand
Council of Engineers (COE) APEC
Turkey
Association for Evaluation and Accreditation
WA
of Engineering Programs (MDEK)
United Kingdom
Engineering Council (EngC) WA SA DA IPEA IETA
United States
Abet Inc WA SA DA
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International Engineering Alliance Secretariat