Unitech’s engineering programme gets provisional accreditation

THE Papua New Guinea University of Technology (Unitech) has successfully obtained provisional accreditation from the Institution of Engineers Australia (IEAust) for its restructured engineering programme.
The conditional provisional accreditation was granted at the level of professional engineer when the accreditation board of engineers Australia met last March 3.
Accreditation has been accorded for the following engineering programmes offered at the Lae campus: bachelor of civil engineering (honours); bachelor of electrical engineering (honours); bachelor of mechanical engineering (honours); bachelor of mining engineering (honours); and, bachelor of mineral processing engineering (honours).
The new honours degree programmes have been granted provisional accreditation until the first cohort of graduates from the programmes enter the national workforce.
IEAust will then evaluate all programmes for full accreditation, which will include in-depth discussions with new graduates and their employers. Graduates of an accredited programme enjoy the benefits of greater employment mobility, peer recognition, networking and collaboration.
The accreditation of Unitech’s engineering programme by Engineers Australia means that graduates of the new programmes will be recognised as having the academic requirements needed for entry into Australian industry and workforce.
IEAust is a signatory and founding member of the international Washington Accord.
This accord was initially signed in 1989 by six countries, but it has now been signed by national professional engineering institutions from more than 20 countries.
Engineering programmes recognised (accredited) by a signatory of the Washington Accord as having the academic requirements for producing professional engineers is given the same recognition by all the signatories of the accord.
The full signatories are Australia, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Unitech has been working towards the accreditation of its programmes for several years and to help facilitate the process established the engineering and science industrial advisory board in 2015.
More recently, the university established the school of engineering and appointed its new dean.
Unitech vice-chancellor Ora Renagi said the accreditation was a giant step forward for helping to create an enduring professional engineering workforce that would ensure the creation and maintenance of a sound infrastructure for the country’s future.