The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers has established close relationship with engineering institutions/authorities throughout the world. It has signed agreements for reciprocal recognition of professional and technologist qualifications with many engineering institutions/authorities. These include:
Professional Qualifications for Corporate Membership
The British Computer Society
The Chartered Institute of Building
The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers
The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management
China Association for Science and Technology
Energy Institute
Engineers Australia
Engineers Canada
Engineers Ireland
Hong Kong Computer Society
The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology
The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining *
The Institute of Measurement and Control
The Institution of Chemical Engineers
The Institution of Civil Engineers
The Institution of Engineering and Technology
Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers
The Institution of Professional Engineers, New Zealand
The Institution of Structural Engineers
The National Administration Board of Engineering Registration (Structural)
The Royal Institution of Naval Architects
The Society of Operations Engineers
Technologist Qualifications for Associate Membership
The Society of Operations Engineers
* The Institute of Materials and the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy have merged and formed the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining on 10 July 2002
International Engineering Agreements
The Institution is a signatory to the following international engineering agreements:
Washington Accord
The Washington Accord commenced in 1989. It recognises substantial equivalence in the accreditation of academic qualifications in professional engineering. The engineering degrees accredited by the HKIE are recognised by other signatories, and vice versa. Signatories to the Washington Accord include Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong-China, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Sydney Accord
The Sydney Accord commenced in 2001. It recognises substantial equivalence in the accreditation of academic qualifications in engineering technology. The higher diplomas and associate degrees accredited by the HKIE are recognised by other signatories, and vice versa. Signatories to the Sydney Accord include Australia, Canada, Hong Kong-China, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Engineers Mobility Forum (EMF)
The EMF agreement commenced in 2001. It establishes an international standard of competence for professional engineering and provides a framework for the recognition of experienced professional engineers by representative organisations in the signatory jurisdictions. Each representative organisation is authorised to establish a register for those engineers wishing to be recognised as meeting the generic international standard. Members of EMF include Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong-China, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom and the United States.
APEC Engineer
The APEC Engineer framework was established between the representative organisations of the participating Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies under support of the Government in 1999. It operates in a similar protocol as the EMF agreement. Member economies include Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong-China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the United States.
Engineering Technologists Mobility Forum (ETMF)
The ETMF agreement was signed in 2003. It provides a framework for the recognition of experienced engineering technologists by representative organisations in the signatory jurisdictions. Each representative organisation establishes a register for those engineering technologists wishing to be recognised as meeting the generic international standard. Members of the ETMF include Canada, Hong Kong-China, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
The Seoul Accord commenced in 2008. It recognises substantial equivalence in the accreditation of academic qualifications in Computing and Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-related education. Hong Kong-China joined as a Full Signatory to the Seoul Accord in June 2009 and following that, the computer science degrees accredited by the HKIE would be recognised by other signatories, and vice versa. Other signatories to the Seoul Accord include Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. For details of the Seoul Accord, please visit the website http://www.seoulaccord.org/.
Others
The HKIE is also an affiliated member of World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO) and a member of the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Asia and the Pacific (FEIAP), formerly known as the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Southeast Asia and the Pacific (FEISEAP).
International Registers
The Institution has launched the following International Registers under the EMF, APEC Engineer and ETMF agreements:
The International Engineering Alliance was jointly formed by the six international engineering agreements, namely Washington Accord, Sydney Accord, Dublin Accord, EMF, APEC Engineer and ETMF, in strengthening the mutual recognition work of academic qualifications and professional competence of the engineering profession globally.
The six international engineering agreements hold the International Engineering Meetings (IEM) biennially to review policies and procedures, consider applications for membership and discuss other issues pertaining to engineering education and qualification development. Between the biennial meetings, IEA Workshops would also be organised.
IEM 2009
The IEM 2009 was held on 15-19 June 2009 in Kyoto, Japan. In his capacity as President-elect, Ir Dr Andrew Chan led a delegation consisting of Ir Kenneth Hsu - Chairman of Accreditation Board, Ir Professor J M Ko - Chairman of Hong Kong APEC Engineer Monitoring Committee and Hong Kong EMF Monitoring Committee, and Mr Albert Chow - Director of Qualifications. Besides, Ir Dr Alex S K Chan attended the meetings as Chair of Sydney Accord. The following are some highlights of the meeting outcomes:
Washington Accord
Hong Kong-China was successfully verified for the next term of six years as a Full Signatory to the Washington Accord. In addition, Malaysia was admitted as a Full Signatory while Canada was also successfully verified as a Full Signatory for another six years. Dr Winfred Phillips of the United States and Prof Hu Hanrahan of South Africa were re-elected as Chair and Deputy Chair of the Washington Accord respectively.
Sydney Accord
Ireland was successfully verified for the next term of six years as a Full Signatory to the Sydney Accord. Ir Dr Alex S K Chan of Hong Kong-China and Prof Robin King of Australia continued to be Chair and Deputy Chair of the Sydney Accord respectively.
EMF
Chinese Taipei and India were admitted as a Full Signatory to the EMF. Mr Basil Wakelin of New Zealand succeeded as Chair of the EMF while Mr Nam Ho of Korea was elected as the Deputy Chair.
APEC Engineer
Canada, Malaysia and Philippines were successfully verified for the next term of six years as a Full Member of the APEC Engineer. Dr See-Sew Gue of Malaysia continued to be Chair of the APEC Engineer while Dr Za-Chieh Moh of Chinese Taipei has taken up the Deputy Chair.
ETMF
Mr David Long of the United Kingdom and Mr Yaroslaw Zajac of Canada were re-elected as Chair and Deputy Chair of the ETMF respectively.
The Institution is very encouraged to see Ir Dr Alex S K Chan be re-elected as Chair of Sydney Accord for the next two years (2009-2011). His nomination was unanimously supported by all signatories of Sydney Accord during the IEM 2009.
The next IEM will be held in June 2011 in Taipei, Chinese Taipei while the IEA Workshops 2010 will be held in Ottawa, Canada in June 2010.
General Meeting of Seoul Accord
The second General Meeting of Seoul Accord was held on 20 June 2009 in Kyoto, Japan. In his capacity as President-elect, Ir Dr Andrew Chan led a delegation consisting of Ir Kenneth Hsu - Chairman of Accreditation Board, Ir Professor W S Wong - Deputy Chairman of Accreditation Committee for Computer Science Programmes, and Mr Albert Chow - Director of Qualifications.
At the meeting, Hong Kong-China and Chinese Taipei were admitted as a Full Signatory to the Seoul Accord. Discussions were also held on matters related to start-up of the accord and cooperation with the International Engineering Alliance.
The next General Meeting will be held in June 2011 in Taipei, Chinese Taipei while a workshop will be held in Brisbane, Australia in September 2010.
