Educational Requirements for Professional Practice: What’s happening around the World?

Today, all over the world, engineers and engineering companies are working across international borders. Engineers in responsible charge are seeking avenues to legally practice across the globe. Most countries require either a credential or license in order to practice engineering and the educational requirements for such licensure (we will use licensure to refer either to a license or credential required to practice engineering in responsible charge) vary in many cases. Trends in overseas educational requirements in several countries and how those requirements might be evolving in response to both a greater body of knowledge for engineering and providing the attributes needed to effectively practice engineering on a global scale are explored herein. ABET has begun accrediting foreign engineering programs. Today over 22 countries apart from the United States and its territories are participating. Another recent development is that the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) is beginning to offer their examinations overseas. At the same time mutual recognition agreements or efforts at harmonization moved forward in several countries. The Washington Accord, signed in 1989, promotes mutual recognition of engineering programs and now includes15 signatory countries and 5 provisional member countries. The Bologna Accord, signed in 1999 had the following goals for 2010: it is easy to move from one country to the other (within the European Higher Education Area) – for the purpose of further study or employment; the attractiveness of European higher education is increased so many people from nonEuropean countries also come to study and/or work in Europe; the European Higher Education Area provides Europe with a broad, high quality and advanced knowledge base, and ensures the further development of Europe as a stable, peaceful and tolerant community. Now 47 countries are party to the accord. The 1998 call for action from the 1995 Civil Engineering Education Conference of the American Society of Civil. Engineers, ultimately resulted in the passage of ASCE Policy Statement 465—Academic Prerequisites for Licensure and Professional Practice. ASCE Policy 465 states that, in the future, education beyond the baccalaureate degree will be necessary for entry into the professional practice of civil engineering. Already several countries have recognized the need for advanced education for licensure or chartering. This is one of several scholarly papers that will be written and presented about the preparation of engineers for licensure or equivalent outside of the United States. These papers will be written from different, yet related, perspectives including the (1) overview, (2) educational requirements for licensure in Asia and the United Kingdom, (3) ABET role and understanding Page 23457.2 about overseas educational preparation for engineers , and (4) characteristics of global engineers. This paper will focus on the first perspective – overview.