IEET’s Mentoring of Myanmar in Engineering Accreditation System

Mandy Liu; Liang-Jenq Leu; Charlie Than

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Conference: 2016 ASEE International Forum
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Publication Date: June 25, 2016
Start Date: June 25, 2016
End Date: June 25, 2016
Conference Session: Concurrent Paper Tracks Session I Accredidation
Tagged Topic: International Forum
Page Count: 10
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--27247
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/27247
Download Count: 951

Paper Authors

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Mandy Liu Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (IEET)

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Dr. Liu is currently the Deputy Executive Director of the Accreditation Council and Office Director of Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (IEET), an accreditation agency for engineering education. Her primary responsibilities are to oversee administration of accreditation and international activities of the Institute. Prior to her current position, Dr. Liu worked as a research associate for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in Washington DC, USA, where she conducted research in the area of organization and management studies of medical schools. Dr. Liu received her doctorate in higher education policy and management from Claremont Graduate University in the USA.

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Liang-Jenq Leu Dept. of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University

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Dr. Liang-Jenq Leu is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering at the National Taiwan University. He is also serving as the President of the Chinese Institute of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering (CICHE), the President of the Chinese Society of Structural Engineering, Standing Director of the Board of the Taiwan Chinese Society for Earthquake Engineering, and Deputy Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of the Accreditation Council of the Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (IEET). He is the Subject Editor of the Journal of the Chinese Institute of Engineers (a SCI journal). Dr. Leu earned his Bachelor and Master’s degrees from the Department of Civil Engineering of National Taiwan University in 1987 and 1989, respectively. He joined the faculty of National Taiwan University shortly after receiving his PhD from Cornell University in 1994. His area of research includes optimal design of structures, structural health monitoring, earthquake resistant design, and simulation of architectural physics for green buildings.

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Charlie Than Myanmar Engineering Council

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Graduated from Rangoon Institute of Technology in Mechanical Engineering at 1975.Completed the PG Certificate Course in Naval Architecture from University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1990.Study in Marine Engineering Department of Defense Service Technological Academy for Master and Doctorate Program and completed in 2008.Start the career as Senior Engineer in Inland Water Transport in 1975 and transfer to Myanmar Maritime University in 2001.Start the career as academia in 2001 as Pro-Rector of Myanmar Maritime University.Finally come as President of this University and retired in 2013.Later government appoint in the Myanmar Engineering Council for Quality Assurance of the Technical Universities.At present i am Vice President of Myanmar Engineering Society for contribution to our Society.

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Abstract

Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (IEET), the accreditation agency for engineering and technological education in Taiwan, is a signatory of the Washington, Sydney, and Seoul accords. It was invited to be a mentor for Myanmar Engineering Society (MES) in its development of engineering education accreditation system in 2013. During the past three years, IEET has helped Myanmar, eventually the Myanmar Engineering Council (MEngC), to develop engineering education accreditation system. In October 2015, MEngC launched its very first accreditation visit to eight programs in the Yangon Technological University (YTU), which is the flagship engineering institution in Myanmar. This historical event marked the country’s further step toward internationalization of higher education. This paper is to record the process and outcomes of the mentoring.

IEET became the signatory of the Washington Accord in 2007, Seoul Accord in 2009, and Sydney Accord in 2014 respectively. Over the past twelve years, IEET has accredited over 500 programs in 83 universities in Taiwan. It became the country’s leading accreditation agency in engineering and technological education. All accredited programs are waived from the Ministry of Education’s evaluation. Since the outset, IEET has been promoting outcomes-based education in Taiwan. Specifically, the agency has been paying much attention to the program’s training of students’ graduate attributes through Capstone Course in recent years. Although Capstone Course is not something new to many programs, not many programs have linked the assessment of the Course with attainment of graduate attributes. Now through the requirement of the IEET accreditation criteria, all programs must have Capstone Course and must use the assessment of the Course to show compliance with the requirements of graduate attributes.

Due to the political situation, higher education in Myanmar has gone through a period of uncertainty and instability. However, as the political and economical situations changed in recent years, the country works hard to catch up with its international peers. MES is one of the most active engines in the country to move and elevate level and quality of engineering education. It joins members in the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Asia and the Pacific (FEIAP) to seek recognition of engineering degree holders from Myanmar. Chinese Institute of Engineers (CIE) is a member of the FEIAP but does not oversee accreditation of engineering education in Taiwan. CIE asked IEET’s support to help mentoring MES in the development of engineering education accreditation system in Myanmar. Starting in 2013, IEET delegates have visited Myanmar many times to introduce engineering education accreditation system to universities and members of MES. Moreover, IEET delegates also provide training workshops to the MES members. When the country finally adopted Professional Engineering Act and recognized accreditation of engineering education as the requirement for engineer licensing, MEngC was thus formed to develop and execute engineering education accreditation. Through several years of working together with IEET, MEngC has published a set of accreditation criteria and policies and launched accreditation visit to YTU. Universities in Myanmar are also showing interest in accreditation now, a departure from years ago when many had doubts in accreditation. IEET hopes that the accreditation of engineering education could serve as a catalyst for the advancement of engineering education in Myanmar.

Citation
Format

Liu, M., & Leu, L., & Than, C. (2016, June), IEET’s Mentoring of Myanmar in Engineering Accreditation System Paper presented at 2016 ASEE International Forum, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/1-2--27247

TY - CPAPER
AB - Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (IEET), the accreditation agency for engineering and technological education in Taiwan, is a signatory of the Washington, Sydney, and Seoul accords. It was invited to be a mentor for Myanmar Engineering Society (MES) in its development of engineering education accreditation system in 2013. During the past three years, IEET has helped Myanmar, eventually the Myanmar Engineering Council (MEngC), to develop engineering education accreditation system. In October 2015, MEngC launched its very first accreditation visit to eight programs in the Yangon Technological University (YTU), which is the flagship engineering institution in Myanmar. This historical event marked the country’s further step toward internationalization of higher education. This paper is to record the process and outcomes of the mentoring.

IEET became the signatory of the Washington Accord in 2007, Seoul Accord in 2009, and Sydney Accord in 2014 respectively. Over the past twelve years, IEET has accredited over 500 programs in 83 universities in Taiwan. It became the country’s leading accreditation agency in engineering and technological education. All accredited programs are waived from the Ministry of Education’s evaluation. Since the outset, IEET has been promoting outcomes-based education in Taiwan. Specifically, the agency has been paying much attention to the program’s training of students’ graduate attributes through Capstone Course in recent years. Although Capstone Course is not something new to many programs, not many programs have linked the assessment of the Course with attainment of graduate attributes. Now through the requirement of the IEET accreditation criteria, all programs must have Capstone Course and must use the assessment of the Course to show compliance with the requirements of graduate attributes.

Due to the political situation, higher education in Myanmar has gone through a period of uncertainty and instability. However, as the political and economical situations changed in recent years, the country works hard to catch up with its international peers. MES is one of the most active engines in the country to move and elevate level and quality of engineering education. It joins members in the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Asia and the Pacific (FEIAP) to seek recognition of engineering degree holders from Myanmar. Chinese Institute of Engineers (CIE) is a member of the FEIAP but does not oversee accreditation of engineering education in Taiwan. CIE asked IEET’s support to help mentoring MES in the development of engineering education accreditation system in Myanmar. Starting in 2013, IEET delegates have visited Myanmar many times to introduce engineering education accreditation system to universities and members of MES. Moreover, IEET delegates also provide training workshops to the MES members. When the country finally adopted Professional Engineering Act and recognized accreditation of engineering education as the requirement for engineer licensing, MEngC was thus formed to develop and execute engineering education accreditation. Through several years of working together with IEET, MEngC has published a set of accreditation criteria and policies and launched accreditation visit to YTU. Universities in Myanmar are also showing interest in accreditation now, a departure from years ago when many had doubts in accreditation. IEET hopes that the accreditation of engineering education could serve as a catalyst for the advancement of engineering education in Myanmar.

AU - Mandy Liu
AU - Liang-Jenq Leu
AU - Charlie Than
CY - New Orleans, Louisiana
DA - 2016/06/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - IEET’s Mentoring of Myanmar in Engineering Accreditation System
UR - https://peer.asee.org/27247
DO - 10.18260/1-2--27247
ER -