First 4-year Program Granted Provisional Accreditation by HKIE

The HKUST School of Engineering’s 4-year Engineering Degree Programs are the first in Hong Kong to have been granted provisional accreditation by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) via the brand new outcome-based education approach.

The HKIE Accreditation Visit was conducted on 31 Oct and 1 Nov 2013. Apart from meeting with the President, Dean and the management units of Departments and Programs, the Visiting Team also interviewed our students, employers and alumni, the major stakeholders of the programs. Led by Prof David Holger, Associate Provost for Academic Programs and Dean of the Graduate College of the Iowa State University, the Visiting Team conducted a thorough comprehensive review of the program curricula, quality of our academic staff, and facilities and resources for delivering the programs. Prof Holger commended that the School of Engineering had created an environment of creative, educational and curricular innovation that was well-aligned with the increasingly complex preparation of graduates for the engineering careers. The Visiting Team was also impressed by the quality of the academic staff, and commended that the School had been successful in recruiting world class faculty and staff members, and in securing resources to support the development of excellent educational programs. Moreover, they said that the university and School had taken full advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to innovate and redesign educational programs that had been provided by the simultaneous transition to a four-year undergraduate program and a renewed focus on continuous improvement and outcome-based education.

This was the first HKIE Accreditation exercise that the School went through since the implementation of the four-year undergraduate program and conversion to the outcome-based accreditation criteria. The School is very pleased to have been continuously receiving the recognition from HKIE, with all our engineering degree programs* accredited until the first cohort of graduates.

The accreditation status is important to engineering degree programs. Engineering degrees accredited by the HKIE are also recognized by other signatories under the Washington Accord, hence recognized internationally.

*The School was granted by HKIE Provisional accreditation for all Engineering degree programs which are recognized under the Washington Accord that covers programmes under Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.