Track: Engineering Education

Abstract

Historically the quality of engineering education has been controlled by the institution itself and monitored by the national level government organizations. As engineering has become a more global profession, issues of quality assurance and competitiveness of engineering education were being intensifying continually. With the effect of globalization 3.0 (2000-present), the concern of quality assurance and competitiveness of engineering education has been amplified further. In general, as education has been impacted by globalization, schools and education systems now are competing on a global arena rather than just local or national competition. Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), founded in 1932 as an engineering professional body, dedicated to the education, accreditation, regulation and professional development of engineering professionals and students in the United States. However, the less developed countries were facing difficulties to maintain quality of engineering education as required in the global market. As a consequence, developed countries do not find a smooth supply of competent engineers. With this realization, the International Engineering Alliance (IEA), a global not-for-profit organisation, seeks to improve engineering education and competence globally. It fulfils this mission through its constituents: education agreements that are concerned with standards, best practice accreditation processes and mutual recognition of accredited engineering programmes and agreements for defining and recognising professional competence. An explicit outcome of IEA is the Washington Accord originally signed in 1989. This accord is an international accreditation agreement for tertiary-level engineering qualifications between the bodies responsible for accreditation in its signatory countries and regions. With this, the accreditation had become increasingly prescriptive and a powerful tool for quality assurance. It is a “Quality Stamp” which ensures that an accredited programme has undergone a rigorous process of external peer evaluation based on predefined standards and complies with the minimum requirements. This paper focuses on the outcomes of accreditation to enhance excellence in engineering education. Previous studies in various national contexts are reviewed and the question of whether accreditation can really uphold a sustainable engineering education is answered.