Did you know that Antoinette Vietsch and Gijs Breedveld updated the registration of all engineering courses (higher professional education and university) in the Netherlands in the Engineers Europe database, the EEED (European Engineering Education Database), a few years ago? Now it is clear in one overview which courses meet the European standard, which confirms your expertise not only in the Netherlands, but throughout Europe.
The database is managed by the European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education (ENAEE). KIVI was involved in the establishment of ENAEE at an early stage in 2006. ENAEE was established to harmonise quality standards for engineering courses at the European level. KIVI considered it very important to assist in this to ensure the appreciation of our engineers abroad.
The process
To update a registration, files with accreditations for the Dutch courses must first be submitted to the EMC committee of Engineers Europe. These have been assessed there and confirm that the quality of the Dutch engineering courses meets the European system of the EEED. Subsequently, approximately 3,000 courses in the system were updated.
These registrations provide all employers in Europe with certainty about the quality of Dutch engineering courses. In addition, this is also very important when assessing titles such as Chartered Engineer and EUR ING. This way, everyone can see that the course exists or has existed and whether it has been assessed. Courses that have changed or have been given a different name are also included in this list under ‘history’.
Two systems
Gijs explains that there are two systems for assessing courses: public and private. In the public system, the assessment is carried out by a government body, such as in the Netherlands via the Dutch-Flemish Accreditation Organisation (NVAO). In the private system, the assessment is carried out by, for example, a professional association, such as in the United Kingdom by the Engineering Council. In the latter system, it is legally stipulated that the assessment takes place there.
The work experience that an engineer gains is of course not included in the assessment of courses. That is why the Chartered Engineer title plays such a big role in the United Kingdom, because it shows what you are worth as an engineer and that you continue to develop yourself. This also applies to the EUR ING title. With both titles, the engineer must submit a file that is then independently assessed. An employer in Spain then knows that your Dutch file has been independently assessed. The assessment for Chartered Engineer is more sound, more difficult and better than that for EUR ING, according to Gijs.
What a great development that Dutch engineering courses are now internationally registered and recognized via an accredited database! Curious if your course is registered? Check out EEED and search for your qualification.
