Ingenieur Vol.72 ingenieur October 2017-FA3 | Page 44
INGENIEUR
Engineering Technology
Programme Accreditation
By Ir. Associate Professor Adnan Zulkiple, Noor Azizan Itam
Associate Directors, Engineering Technology Accreditation Council
and
Ir. Associate. Professor Abdul Aziz Omar,
Director, Engineering Accreditation Department
T
echnology education has evolved and is very
much subjected to the demands of industry.
Engineering technolog y programmes
are oriented toward application, and provide
students with mathematics and science courses
and a qualitative introduction to engineering
fundamentals and applied sciences. Students are
exposed to almost similar courses of those of the
engineering curricula but vary in the distribution
of theories and hands-on skills. In other words,
their areas of interest in education are typically
application-oriented, and are somewhat less
theoretical and contain fewer mathematical
element s than their other engineering
counterparts.
Recognising this impact in the engineering
services sector, the Registration of Engineers
Act 1967 (Amendment 2015) has included
engineering technologist and engineering
technician (Inspector of Works) as regulated
engineering profession services. The qualification
requirement which is the pre-requisite for the
registration of an engineering technologist is
stated under Section 10C(1): “A person who holds
any qualification which is recognised by the Board
shall be entitled on application to be registered
as an Engineering Technologist”. The qu alification
requirement which is the pre-requisite for the
registration of an inspector of works is stated
under Section 10E; “A person who holds any
qualification which is recognised by the Board
shall be entitled on application to be registered as
an Inspector of Works”.
The Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM)
conducts accreditation of engineering technology
education programmes offered by institutions
of higher learning (IHLs) as accorded by the Act
and the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA)
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Act. The accreditation process is managed by
its delegated body, the Engineering Technology
Accreditation Council (ETAC). The ETAC Manuals
2015 and 2016 laid out a guide for the IHLs to
comply with to ensure that their programmes meet
the accreditation criteria.
Objectives of Accreditation by ETAC
The objective of accreditation is to ensure that
graduates of the accredited engineering technology
and technician education programmes satisfy the
minimum academic and practical requirements
for registration as engineering technologists and
technicians/inspectors of works with the BEM. In
order to facilitate the IHLs to meet the minimum
standard stipulated for the accreditation of
their existing education programmes as well
as proposed new programmes, the ETAC has
produced the Engineering Technology and
Engineering Technician Education Programme
Accreditation Manuals 2015 and 2016,
respectively. The manuals outline details for
accreditation of engineering technology and
engineering technician education programmes in
Malaysia.
There are four main components of accreditation
that are being given focus by the ETAC;
1. Depth and breadth of the curriculum
• Ensuring the expected engineering
te c hnician e duc at ion level i s
maintained.
• How the programme structure and
course contents are appropriate
to, consistent with and support the
development of the range of intellectual
and practical skills and attainment of
the programme outcome.