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MELAKA- The national engineering education has surpassed an internationally recognised benchmarking tool as the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) was accorded a signatory status in the Washington Accord. News from Bernama, July 5, 2010.
Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said with the achievement, local engineering graduates recognised by the BEM could practice globally.
"All engineering degrees certified by the BEM are now recognised by the signatory countries of the Washington Accord," he told reporters after launching the orientation week for new students at Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) at Durian Tunggal near here Monday.
Other signatories of the Washington Accord are professional engineering bodies from Australia, Canada, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The BEM, a body that oversees engineering practice, including certifying engineering education programmes, acquired the signatory status at the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) meeting in Kyoto, Japan in June last year.
The Washington Accord, signed in 1989, is an international agreement among professional bodies responsible for accrediting engineering degree programmes, and certifying the accreditation process and engineering education standards of all signatories are equivalent.
Shaziman said as international students graduating with Malaysian engineering degrees would gain international recognition, local institutions of higher learning should capitalise on the benchmark as an effective marketing tool to attract more foreign students.
He said Malaysia was on track to emerge as an engineering education hub in the region.
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