By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN, has been admitted as a provisional signatory to the Washington Accord.
Announcing its provisional membership of the international engineering standard body in a statement made available to AljazirahNigeria on Thursday, COREN said the feat was achieved at the annual IEA meetings for 2023 hosted by the Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (IEET) & Chinese Institute of Engineers (CIE) in Taiwan from Sunday, 11 June to Thursday 15 June, 2023.
According to the statement, a 6-man COREN delegation led by the President and Chairman-in-Council of COREN, Engr Prof. Sadiq Zubair Abubakar, represented Nigeria at the meeting.
And after a series of presentations and interactions with the members of the WA by the delegation, including COREN’s Road Map for the attainment of the Full Signatory Status, COREN was admitted to become a Provisional Signatory of the Washington Accord on June 14, 2023, having satisfactorily met all requirements, making Nigeria the second African member of the Accord.
Highlighting some of the benefits of joining the W.A. to COREN-registered Engineers, the statement said by virtue of its acceptance into the Washington Accord, the quality, productivity and mobility of Nigerian engineers would be improved upon and the engineering qualification offered in Nigeria is internationalised.
It went further to state the advantage of technology transfer, noting that Nigerian engineers plying their trade in other economies of the world will enhance the transfer of knowledge which will in turn improve Nigeria’s technological capacity.
“Foreign Exchange: As Nigerian Engineers are opportune to practice in other parts of the world, the exchange of currencies between the two (2) economies is promoted.
“Having become a member Signatory of the Washington Accord, based on the minimum requirements and international best practices and standards, the quality of Engineering Education in Nigerian Universities will greatly improve because the implemented OBE system is student-centered.
“Engineering graduates in Nigerian will henceforth meet the demands of the industry both in-country and abroad.
Similar arrangements are being pursued by COREN under the Sydney and Dublin Accords for Nigerian Technologists and Technicians. Entry into these Accords would create great opportunities for Nigerian Engineering professionals,” it said.
The council also expressed gratitude to its nominators in these words: “This success story can never be complete without mentioning the immense support and professional guidance of COREN’s nominators – Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) and Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC).
“Indeed, it is a super feat attained and a big congratulations to COREN, the Engineering profession, Nigeria and Africa at large as we soar for greater heights.”
The Washington, signed in 1989 under the International Engineering Alliance, is an international multi-lateral agreement between bodies responsible for accreditation or recognition of tertiary-level engineering qualifications within their jurisdictions who have chosen to work collectively to assist the mobility of professional engineers. There currently 21 countries in the WA, including UK, USA, Germany, Canada, Japan, China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Taiwan, Singapore, Hongkong, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Switzerland, South-Africa, etc.