Engineering Education: Accreditation & Graduate Global Mobility

This book details the key concepts, objectives and processes relating to the professional accreditation of engineering bachelor (honours) degrees. The contemporary context of accreditation is examined in terms of the globalised nature of both the engineering profession and higher education. Examples of the processes relating to single and dual accreditation are provided, with examination of the Washington Accord and the requirements of the European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education. Details are also provided as to how learning outcomes can be structured to demonstrate compliance with accreditation criteria. The final chapters deal briefly with quality assurance processes used in education and the current international quality ranking systems which exist.

This book will provide the reader with a detailed examination of outcome based education within the context of Bachelor of Engineering (honours) degrees. A key feature of this book is the side-by-side comparison of different accreditation criteria and a thorough discussion of the relatively new phenomenon of dual accreditation.

The book seeks to provide a very clear explanation and exploration of accreditation within the context of engineering education and will benefit those practitioners involved in the accreditation process.

Dr. Firoz Alam is a Professor and Program Director in the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at RMIT University. He completed his PhD from RMIT in 2000. He completed his Master’s degree combined with Bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from Riga Civil Aviation Engineers Institute, Latvia in 1991. Prof. Alam’s research interest includes aerodynamics of road vehicles, aircraft and trains, sports aerodynamics, energy and power generation, noise and vibration. He has strong research track record in continuous improvement of engineering education pedagogy, quality assurance, accreditation and transnational education. He was the recipient of RMIT University Teaching Award. Prof. Alam is actively involved in delivering and managing engineering programs both onshore and offshore. He has over 200 peer reviewed publications that include scholarly book, book chapters, journal articles and conference papers. His publications on engineering education include transnational education, program quality assurance and accreditation, dual accreditations, technology enabled engineering pedagogy and education design, outcome-based and problem-based learning, intensive mode teaching and postgraduate supervision.

Dr. Alexandra Kootsookos is Senior Lecturer at RMIT University’s School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. She received her PhD in Materials Engineering at the University of Queensland, Australia in 1995. Thereafter, she worked with the Cooperative Research Centre for Polymer Blends, where she was involved in a number of projects relating to the durability of composite materials. Since joining RMIT University in 1999, she has been heavily involved in the teaching instruction of undergraduate students within the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. She has used a blended learning environment within this context since 2000. From 2004-2009 she was the Program Director for the Advanced Manufacturing and Mechatronics program and subsequently she has been the Year Coordinator with a particular focus on transitional issues and program structure, quality assurance and accreditation of engineering degrees. Dr. Kootsookos published over half dozen research papers and book chapters on engineering program accreditation, dual accreditation and transnational education.