Three bachelor of engineering programmes in Macao fully accredited by HKIE for the first time

Three bachelor’s degree programmes in engineering offered by the University of Macau’s (UM) Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), namely Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Bachelor of Science in Electromechanical Engineering, have received full accreditation from the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE).

Students starting the three programmes between the 2011/2012 academic year and the 2018/2019 academic year will be eligible to apply for HKIE membership upon graduation to receive professional qualifications recognised worldwide.

UM received accreditation from the HKIE for its bachelor of science degree programmes for the first time in 2012. Later, it gained accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and recognition from the signatories to the Washington Accord. The HKIE is a signatory of the Washington Accord and the only statutory qualifying body for engineers in Hong Kong. It is responsible for setting and maintaining professional and technical standards and undertakes professional accreditation to evaluate the quality of engineering degree programmes. The HKIE accreditation evaluates the quality of a programme at four levels: namely the university level (support for the accreditation exercise and future development), the faculty level (overall operation), the departmental level (faculty development, student training, and programme management), and the programme level (programme content and preparation for career development and further studies for students).

To better understand the FST’s programmes from these four perspectives, the HKIE accreditation team and representatives of the Macau Institution of Engineers met with UM’s rector and vice rectors, the dean and all the faculty members of the FST, FST advisory board members, departmental advisors, and representatives of alumni and students. After the meeting, the accreditation team noted that UM has outstanding faculty, a solid academic foundation, and extensive resources to provide quality education to students from the three engineering programmes.