Abstract
The Engineering Council has for some time recognised that engineers generally improve their technical knowledge through training courses, self-learning, and experience throughout their working life. Instrumentation and Control engineers are perhaps foremost with regard to keeping up to date with fast evolving technology.
Academic Criteria
The normal routes to Incorporated (IEng) and Chartered Engineer (CEng) registration require either an accredited or an assessed degree: for IEng, a bachelor’s degree, and for CEng, a master’s degree.
If you do not have the required (exemplifying) qualifications, but nonetheless, have a wealth of expertise and responsibility in your profession, you may well be able to qualify to register via the Career Based Learning Option (CBLO). It is expected that candidates already hold some qualifications, so that there is an existing level of ‘underpinning knowledge’ and ‘understanding’, which can be demonstrably supplemented through experience or through a combination of experience and additional formal study, that is, the Option is not normally available to candidates who have no qualifications. The minimum academic qualifications required are, normally
For CEng candidates: a bachelor’s degree (preferably at Honours level)
For IEng candidates: a Higher National Diploma (HND)
Candidates who do not hold the above minimum qualifications will normally be advised to take the Technical Report Option. Only exceptionally, where there is explicit quality of responsibility at a senior level of engineering, will this be waived.
The Option is wholly concerned with satisfying the academic requirements for registration via further learning in the workplace. Such learning may have been gained.
Entry to the Option
The process is straightforward. Candidates applying to be considered via this option must
Already be either a Member of the Institute (MInstMC) or have submitted a completed application;
Have provided full details of current academic qualifications, that is, university/college certificates and academic records/transcripts;
Provide an up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV) that includes details of experience in project work and/or complex engineering operations.
Assessment Procedure
A panel drawn from the Professional Registration Committee will review the information provided to determine whether there is a case for the candidate to be considered via this Option.
If approved, the candidate will be required to complete a questionnaire detailing how the knowledge was acquired. The candidate will also need to complete and submit Form B (available from the InstMC website) and provide a short report covering responsibilities on a relevant project.
The interview process is in two parts:
To clarify and confirm that the candidate’s further learning has developed the ‘underpinning knowledge’ and ‘understanding’ to a level comparable with the required academic standard(s).
To determine the candidate’s competence and commitment to the profession.