CAST, IEA Launch Push for Global Grad-Engineering Education Standards

Beijing, Sept 27—China took a landmark step on Saturday toward deepening its participation in global engineering governance, as the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) and the China Engineering Education Accreditation Association (CEEAA) joined hands with the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) to signed a joint statement to initiate a graduate-level engineering education mutual-recognition accord.

The initiative, unveiled during the 2nd International Conference for Training Excellent Engineers in Beijing, reflects China's firm commitment to high-standard opening-up and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity through science and technology.

Under the guidance of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government, the CAST is ready to work with all IEA members to develop international standards for graduate engineering education, providing highly skilled talent for the world's sustainable development, introduced Feng Shenhong, CAST Vice President and Executive Secretary of its leading Party members' group.

The IEA is a global collective of like-minded organizations focused on quality assurance in engineering education and professional competence.

Comprising 7 autonomous international agreements—known as the Educational Accords and Competence Agreements—44 members of the IEA across 33 countries and regions collaborate to develop and maintain internationally benchmarked standards for engineering education and professional practice.

The new graduate accord, once established, will fill a recognized gap in the international system and mark the first time that master's and doctoral engineering qualifications are brought under a single, mutually recognized framework.

The CAST has been an active contributor to the IEA since becoming a full member of the Washington Accord in 2016. By the end of 2023, a total of 2,395 bachelor's engineering programs at 321 Chinese universities had received CEEAA accreditation, covering 24 engineering sub-disciplines ranging from mechanical and instrumentation engineering to computer science and chemical engineering.

Extending this success to the graduate level will further align China's world-class engineering talent cultivation with international norms while sharing Chinese experience and solutions with worldwide peers.

Next March, the CAST and the IEA is expected to craft globally aligned standards for master’s and PhD training in engineering, supplying the world with internationally mobile talent ready to tackle climate change, next-gen chips and other frontier challenges under the new accord.

(With Input from the official website of IEA and China Science Daily)

Tag: Department of International Affairs of CAST