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In the 90s of the XX century, many countries of the world faced the need to recognize the national accreditation systems of other countries. It turned out that many national accreditation systems, despite external differences, are similar enough to each other that allows to recognize within one community of countries educational documents that have received national accreditation in the member countries of the community.

In 1989, the Washington Accord was adopted – the first agreement within the framework of the International Engineering Alliance (IEA), under which the participating countries guarantee the quality of engineers training in accredited educational programs, which should facilitate the employment of their graduates in any of the member countries. To harmonize the requirements for graduates of educational programs in the field of engineering and technology around the world currently there are certain international agreements:

To unify the system of certification and registration of graduates in June 2004 at the International Engineering Symposium (IEWS) in London, it was decided to develop a single list of requirements for graduates of engineering specialties. Descriptions of the competencies of educational programs graduates corresponding to the Washington, Sydney or Dublin Accord were, in the end, set out in the document "Graduate Attributes and Professional Competencies”. Currently, the content of these documents is formed and updated with the active participation of the International Engineering Alliance (IEA).

Many developed countries have created professional registration systems to carry out comprehensive assessment of graduates' competencies. These systems allow registering and re-registering graduates who meet a predetermined set of criteria. Many registration systems have the international status and operate in the territories of their member countries, for example, Fédération Européenne d’Associations Nationales d’Ingénieurs (FEANI) – in Europe, APEC Engineer Register – in the Asia-Pacific region, Engineers Mobility Forum (EMF) – in the world. Some systems regulating educational activities also provide the registration of educational programs graduates. For example, the Washington Accord, which applies to students of four-year educational programs (bachelor), provides, in addition to the learning process, two stages of graduates’ registration.

The first stage - education in accredited program, the stage of graduation from higher education institution.

The second stage is professional registration, following a certain period of training and experience.

The third stage - obtaining the right to international registration, regulated by legal documents of different countries.

The main purpose of the registration procedure is to assess the level of competence of the educational program graduate with work experience in the specialty at the enterprise of the real sector of the economy. If this level corresponds to the established standards of the registration system, the procedure regulates the registration of a specialist in a special register and the issue of a confirmation certificate. Registration of professional engineers, as a rule, is carried out by independent, non-governmental public and professional organizations (ABET in the USA, ECUK in the UK, JABEE in Japan, etc.) using appropriate criteria and stages.

The existence of standards in the field of education and standards for assessing the competencies of engineers in the member countries of international agreements, allows to guarantee the employer compliance with a certain set of professional competencies and attributes of employed graduates of two-, three - and four-year accredited educational programs of these countries.

The peculiarity of the engineers registration system is the expiration date of the certificate, which forces its holder to undergo periodical re-registration procedure, and one of the necessary conditions for registration and re-registration is a mandatory annual training. Thus, the existence of the registration procedure initiates a whole system of support for the aggregate level of competence of the working specialist at a level not lower than the established standards of the registration system. And forces him to adhere to the model of Life Long Learning. This system is regulated by separate institutes of advanced training of engineers from different countries (Institute of Engineer Professional Development). The main element of certification, registration and re-registration procedures is an exam for assessment of the competencies of a specialist (educational program graduate) necessary for the implementation of independent practical engineering activities. The essence of this assessment is to compare the competence of a specialist with a certain basis – the minimum required level of competence, consistent with the requirements of the International Engineering Alliance and set out in the "Attributes of Graduates and Professional Competencies". The existence of this basis forces the engineer to maintain the level of their own competencies above this value and constantly increase it by improving qualifications.

Non-governmental structures, public organizations and representatives of enterprises, such as leading engineers and previously certified specialists, participate in the formation of registration criteria and directly in the registration procedure.

The employer has a direct interest in the development of systems of registration and certification of engineers in at least two aspects. First, professional certification and registration is a kind of quality guarantee of specialists' competencies compliance (including graduates of certain educational programs) with the established requirements. Secondly, the presence of engineers, certified in accredited international systems among employees, provides a number of advantages over its competitors: easy procedure for institution's participation in international tenders, the conclusion of international contracts, opportunity to build a management system organization and personnel in accordance with the international quality standards, proof of the global level of the company’s products or services.

The world experience of professional engineer registration systems shows that for employees who have received the title of "Professional engineer", the organization opens up new opportunities for professional activity. Such a specialist has the opportunity to hold a managerial position when working on more responsible, complex and expensive projects than a specialist who has not been registered, he has a wider range of duties and rights, in addition, it is easier for him to get various privileges (social, insurance, educational) as a promising specialist in a certain professional area. Thanks to the recognition of such systems as APEC Engineer by many countries of the world, and, in particular, APEC countries, certified professional engineer gets the opportunity for international mobility within the framework of the agreement on this system of registration and certification. This allows him to obtain employment in any country that has accepted the agreement, on a par with the specialists of this country.

The development of certification and registration systems for professional engineers in Russia allows to create an open system of a completely new level for the country to assess the quality of specialists, transparent and understandable, both from the point of view of the implementation procedure and from the point of view of the semantic value of personal certificates for their owner.

Key Definitions

АРЕС Engineer is an individual involved in practical engineering activity, assessed, certificated and registered with regard to criteria and procedures of The APEC Engineer Manual and approved by the Russian АРЕС Engineers National Monitoring Committee.

Certification is documented acknowledgement of the compliance of engineering practice indicators with the requirements of the АРЕС Engineer Standard and its registration followed by standard awarding certificate.

The АРЕС Engineer Standard is a set of requirements to indicators of practical engineering activity and corresponding criteria, including continuous professional development and improvement of universal, professional and special competencies, as well as compliance with the Code of АРЕС Engineer Professional Ethics according to The APEC Engineer Manual and approved by the Russian APEC Engineer Monitoring Committee.

Areas of practical activities of АРЕС Engineers are areas of practical engineering activity in compliance with The APEC Engineer Manual and approved by the Russian АРЕС Engineers Monitoring Committee.

Registration is entering personal records and practical activity indicators of an engineer, which has proved the compliance with the requirements of the АРЕС Engineer Standard in the Russian АРЕС Engineer Register and the International APEC Engineer Register.

Evaluation is stating compliance of indicators of engineering practice with the requirements of the АРЕС Engineer Standard. The relevant procedures agreed upon with The APEC Engineer Manual and approved by the Russian АРЕС Engineers Monitoring Committee are applied in the evaluation process. It also includes an examination on verification of universal, professional and special competencies necessary for carrying out practical engineering activity in certain fields.

Practical engineering activity - activity related to the solution of complex engineering problems, carried out by an individual with higher professional education in the field of engineering and technology.

Suspension and withdrawal of registration is temporary or final exclusion of personal information and indicators of engineer’s practical activities from the Russian АРЕС Engineer Register and the International APEC Engineer Register for the reasons.

List of the engineering activity

Certification and registration of persons involved in practical engineering activity on the territory of the Russian Federation, in the Russian АРЕС Engineer Register and the International APEC Engineer Register are run according to the following 12 areas agreed with The APEC Engineer Manual:

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Bioengineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Geotechnical Engineering
  • Information Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Mining Engineering
  • Petroleum Engineering
  • Transportation Engineering

Member Economies

Members of the agreement have full rights of participation in the agreement; each operates either a national section of the APEC Engineer register or a national section of a combined APEC Engineer/International Professional Engineer (IntPE) register.

Provisional members:

Being a full member of the APEC Agreement AEER recognizes individuals on other jurisdictional sections of the APEC international register as those who meet the registration requirements.

Applicant documents

The list of documents required from candidates for certification and registration in the Russian Register of APEC Engineers and the International APEC Engineer Register:

  • The completed application form, which includes a resume, a brief biography (information about education, professional experience) with the signature of the candidate, the signature of the head and project manager.
  • One photo.
  • Copies of documents on higher education: diploma and diploma supplement (stamped).
  • A copy of the work book (certified by the personnel department).
  • Copies of professional development documents for the last 2 years in an amount of at least 50 hours per year (stamped).
  • Copy of the cover page of the passport (stamped).

Documents must be certified in the personnel department.

It is allowed to submit scanned copies of documents in electronic form (in the format of electronic documents (.pdf) or bitmap images: .jpg, .bmp, .tif or .png).

APEC Engineer Standard

  • The АРЕС Engineer Standard establishes the following requirements for individuals who are involved in engineering activity and appear to be the applicants for certification and registration as an АРЕС Engineer in the Russian АРЕC Engineer Register and the International APEC Engineer Register:
    1. Applicant shall be a graduate of HEI who completed an accredited education programme in the field of technology in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.
    2. Applicant shall have professional and universal competences agreed upon with the requirements of the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) stated in Graduate Attributes and Professional Competences and included into the correspondent list approved by the Russian APEC Engineer Monitoring Committee. Besides, applicant shall have competences necessary for carrying out practical engineering activity in special fields that are included into the list and agreed upon with The APEC Engineer Manual and approved by the Russian APEC Engineer Monitoring Committee.
    3. Applicant shall have a right to carry out individual engineering activity in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and carry out practical engineering activity in a certain field.
    4. Applicant shall have not less than 7 years of engineering practice dealing with complex and innovation problem solving after his or her graduation.
    5. Applicant shall have not less than 2 years of experience working as an executive manager (planning, designing, coordinating) carrying out project (long-term, costly, highly technical, of especial importance).
    6. Applicant shall continuously develop him or herself and enhance professional skills so that to carry out individual practical engineering activity under the conditions of technological development (he or she shall be trained along with the correspondent programmes not less than 50 hours a year, attend training and development courses, serve an internship learning about new technologies).
    7. Applicant shall carry out activity in the framework of corresponding national legislation and adhere to the Code of APEC Engineer Professional Ethics.
  • Requirements to especial competences necessary for carrying out practical engineering activity in certain fields that are included into the list and agreed upon with The APEC Engineer Manual are set by the Examination Commissions of the APEC Engineer Certification Center.

List of competences

  • The following universal and professional competences are provided by the АРЕС Engineer Standard, agreed upon with the requirements of International Engineering Alliance (IEA) and described in Graduate Attributes and Professional Competences:
    1. Meaningful approach to universal knowledge application (an individual shall have comprehensive and advanced knowledge, as well as he/she shall be ready to use it as a base for good practice).
    2. Meaningful approach to local knowledge application (an individual shall have comprehensive and advanced knowledge specific for practice in the Russian Federation, as well as he/she shall be ready to use it as a base for good practice).
    3. Engineering problems analysis (an individual shall be ready to identify, examine and analyse complex engineering problems).
    4. Design and development of solutions to engineering problem (an individual shall be ready to design and develop solutions to complex engineering problems).
    5. Engineering activity evaluation (an individual shall understand the importance of complex engineering activity, evaluate the outcomes and impacts of complex activities).
    6. Social responsibility (an individual shall be ready to demonstrate his/her responsibility for social, cultural and ecological consequences of complex engineering activity taking into account sustainable development).
    7. Legal and regulatory awareness (an individual shall follow all relevant legal and regulatory requirements and protect public health and safety in performing his/her activities)
    8. Engineering ethics compliance (an individual shall be ready to carry out engineering activity in compliance with the Code of Professional Engineer Ethics).
    9. Engineering activity management (an individual shall be ready to manage one or several types of complex engineering activity either partially or in full).
    10. Ability to communicate effectively (an individual shall be able to communicate effectively with all participants involved in complex engineering activity).
    11. Life-long learning (an individual shall understand the need for continuing professional development, and pursue mastering professional competences on a regular basis).
    12. Exercise of judgement (an individual shall recognise complexity and assess alternatives in the context of competing requirements and incomplete knowledge, exercise sound judgement in the course of his/her complex activities).
    13. Responsibility for engineering decisions (an individual shall be partly or fully responsible for decisions that he or she makes when carrying out complex engineering activity).
  • Requirements to especial competences necessary for carrying out practical engineering activity in certain fields that are included into the list and agreed upon with The APEC Engineer Manual are set by the Examination Commissions of the APEC Engineer Certification Center.

Code of Ethics

Ⅰ. General provisions

  1. The Code of APEC Engineer Professional Ethics in Russia (hereinafter referred to as the Code of Ethics) defines major moral principles of creative work and relations among engineering specialists with respect to ethic values, history and traditions of soviet and Russian engineers.
  2. The highest standards of morality shall lay the foundation for developing a highly professional Russian APEC Engineer, become the core of his/her active citizenship, facilitate the genuine value of engineering activity, as well as raise the prestige of the Russian engineering education.
  3. The key principles of professional conduct and ethics proceed from the fact that free, creative work for ensuring welfare of the public, as well as striving for innovation shall be regarded as matter of honour and dignity of Russian engineers and the key motive of their professional activity.
  4. Having the core moral principles in view and respecting the achievements of the previous generations, the Russian APEC Engineer seeks to enhance the ex-isting engineering solutions and searches for the principally new ones. Discoveries, inventions, rationalization activity and design of principally new technologies and equipment, as well as implementation of innovations with respect to the moral constituent shall provide the basis for practical work of the Russian APEC Engineer.

Ⅱ. Basic principles of professional ethics

  1. Russian APEC Engineers shall:
    • act for each employer or client in a polite, fair and faithful manner, as well as maintain confidentiality and avoid conflicts,
    • provide moral incentives to colleagues and handle any fair criticism in a positive way,
    • have an unbiased attitude to all clients and colleagues irrespective of their ethnic belonging, religious views, age, mental and physical abilities, marital status and nationality.
    • publish the outcomes of their work, as well let their subordinates and colleagues do so.
  2. Russian APEC Engineers shall not:
      • display their experience in order to undermine public trust in the engineer’s profession or shatter its reputation,
      • issue public statements concerning an engineering project until full factual information on the latter is obtained,
      • attempt to injure, maliciously or falsely, directly or indirectly, the professional reputation, prospects, practice, or employment of other Russian APEC Engineers,
      • use engineering products or processes for commercial publicity,
      • accept remuneration for the services rendered without consent of the employer,
      • accept commissions, discounts, direct or indirect payments or any other remuneration in connection with the work for which they are responsible,
      • use confidential information for obtaining profit,
      • take part in the engineering project implementation or solve a technical task which might do harm to the society and /or environment (even if this meets customer and employer requirements and is approved by colleagues).
  3. Профессиональному инженеру следует:
    • continuously search for reliable facts to find and protect the truth, being the main goal of cognition, regardless all the difficulties that might arise,
    • respect creative workу of his/her colleagues,
    • critically assess hisher own results and achievements and stop any attempts of appropriating other people’s achievements,
    • use a prospective approach when considering any problem or situation with the account to all the social, environmental and other consequences for the society,
    • be able to point out civil and ethical aspects of a problem in the process of searching for new engineering knowledge and solutions, which might at first seem to be purely technical,
    • be prepared for a constructive dialogue with representatives of related industries,
    • try to minimise the negative consequences of specialised equipment usage for individuals, society and environment,
    • deny conservatism and stagnation in creative activity,
    • enhance the reputation of the Russian APEC Engineer.

Ⅲ. Key moral values

By key moral values of the Russian APEC Engineer one implies:

  • teamwork and partnership in engineering activity; development of professional and general communication; providing reasonable freedom for exchanging scientific and technical information and experience; search for and support of young talented specialists and facilitation to their workplace adjustment; interest in advanced technological achievements,
  • development of mutually beneficial cooperation with international partners; studying and implementation of the international experience, discoveries and technologies,
  • humanism being one of the attributes of professional activity which manifests itself in creating conditions ensuring creativity, tools and machinery efficiency, labour safety and growth of mechanisation level, workability of new appliances and processes, as well as increase in the number of automated workplaces necessary for high performance,
  • efficiency of research and technological activity, reduction of costs, usage of target-based approaches when solving scientific and technical tasks which will facilitate production costs decrease, cost-effective use of resources and increase in labour productivity,
  • integrity which excludes negligence when spotting incompliances with the established rules, new facts and new conditions; endeavor to officially and legally change out-of-date standards and norms,
  • persistence in implementing new engineering solutions, searching for the truth and solving complicated problems,
  • aspirations for continuous professional development, knowledge enrichment, acquisition of professional skills and competences, computer literacy being a prerequisite for mastering advanced methods of cognition, designing, development of economically and scientifically grounded technical solutions, labour organisation and management, and enhancing general communication culture and amenity,
  • outreach activity; fight against ignorance, incompetence, technophobia; raising engineering culture of employees,
  • organised and disciplined way of thinking and behaviour,
  • responsibility for assumed obligations, ideas implementation and consequences of engineering activity; open acknowledgement of his/her errors.

The examination for evaluation of transferable and professional competences of applicants seeking registration as an APEC Engineer, that are described in the APEC Engineer Standard, and evaluation of special competences necessary for carrying out individual practical engineering activity in various disciplines approved by the Russian Monitoring Committee of APEC Engineers is considered to be indispensable, important and final stage of evaluation procedure of applicants’ engineering practice indicators and their compliance with the APEC Engineer Standard.

The examination consists of two stages:

The first stage is the form of written examination. Written examination is held for evaluation of transferable and professional competences and their compliance with the requirements agreed upon with the requirements of the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) stated in IEA Graduate Attributes and Professional Competences and approved by the Russian Monitoring Committee of APEC Engineers.

Applicants who have successfully passed the written examination in the first stage shall advance to take the oral examination in the second stage. Applicants who graduated from HEI and completed an engineering programme accredited by the AEER do not have to take the written examination.

The second stage is the form of oral examination aimed to evaluate special competences necessary for carrying out individual practical engineering activity in different fields. The examiner is guided by the memo for the oral examination for certification and registration of individuals in the Russian APEC Engineers Register and the International APEC Engineer Register.

Written examination

When evaluating transferable and professional competences of the applicants, their expertise, fundamental knowledge and its application in engineering practice are checked. The form of written examination is the same for all engineering disciplines which is approved by the Chief Executive of the APEC Engineer Certification Center. Written examination is held to evaluate applicants’ suitability for the APEC Engineer title and ability to solve complex problems that arise in the course of practical engineering activity taking into account a number of technical, economic, ecological and other requirements, standards, laws and the Code of APEC Engineer Professional Ethics.

Oral examination and interview

The Examination Commission is established to hold the oral examination. The Examination Commission consists of the chair, two members and leading experts in certain engineering discipline. The oral examination programme is developed by the Examination Commission and depends on the engineering discipline. The objective of the oral examination is to evaluate the level of applicants’ special competences in a certain engineering discipline. During the oral examination special competences are evaluated in accordance with the following criteria:

  • manager’s responsibility for engineering project works and design in a certain discipline,
  • experience in engineering activity in a certain discipline in compliance with the Code of APEC Engineer Professional Ethics,
  • practical experience in solving both typical and non-typical complex engineering problems in a certain discipline, managerial and soft skills and knowledge of the law,
  • applicant’s professional development, benefits to the society of complex engineering activity in a certain discipline.

The chair of the Examination Commission explains the interview’s objective to the applicant. The applicant is offered to describe one or more engineering projects which he/she took part in. This task helps to define whether the applicant is ready for independent and accountable practical engineering activity in a certain discipline. The Examination Commission members ask the applicant various follow-up questions and offer a number of hypothetic situations. Finally, understanding of all the components of complex engineering activity is evaluated. After the interview, the chair and the Examination Commission members make thorough analysis and conclude whether the applicant has exhibited a deep knowledge and experience to be awarded the title of the APEC Engineer. The applicant will be notified of his/her oral examination results when the conclusion is drawn up by the Examination Commission.