International Activities
■ Washington Accord
Washington Accord is an international agreement among bodies responsible for accrediting engineering degree programs. JABEE has been a signatory since June, 2005.
■ APQN (Asia-Pacific Quality Network)
APQN is a network, having been created in Hong Kong in January 2003. At present (February 2008), APQN has 60 members from 27 jurisdictions classified into four categories: full members, intermediate members, associate members and institutional members. APQN seeks to enhance the quality of higher education in Asia and the Pacific region through strengthening the work of quality assurance agencies and extending the cooperation between them. JABEE has been a full member since March 2006.
■ NABEEA (Network of Accreditation Bodies for Engineering Education in Asia)
NABEEA was established in August, 2007 at the first general assembly in Penang, Malaysia. NABEEA is a loose network among accreditation bodies for engineering education in Asia, having 9 full members and 5 associate members. NABEEA aims to develop and upgrade engineering education and to promote mutual cooperation for better accreditation systems in Asia.
■ Memoranda of understanding
JABEE has signed memorandums of understanding with ABET
(Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, USA), Engineers Australia,
ABEEK (Accreditation Board for Engineering Education of Korea), IEET (Institute
of Engineering Education Taiwan) and CAST (China Association for Science and
Technology).
These memoranda incorporate mutual agreements to observe accrediting activities,
to participate in evaluator training, to exchange information concerning
accreditation procedures, to enhance quality of higher education, and to develop
substantial equivalency in accreditation systems under the Washington Accord.
Qualified Reviewers
■ Training of reviewers
JABEE actively trains evaluators as an essential element in achieving a high-quality accreditation system. There are approximately 1,000 qualified evaluators. Evaluators must be knowledgeable persons from academic societies or industry as well as experienced faculty members or engineers. They are required to undergo training and to join an evaluation team to visit a site as observers. An evaluation team consists of 2 to 4 members, including at least one from industry. More evaluators with industrial backgrounds are expected to participate in the future. JABEE also makes efforts to nurture evaluators who meet global standards through cooperation with Washington Accord signatories. Every year some evaluators are sent to observe accreditation procedures (on-site visits or decision-making meetings) at accrediting bodies in Washington Accord signatories.
■ Mutual collaboration and information exchange with other accreditation bodies
JABEE signed bilateral memoranda of understanding with the following oversea accreditation bodies:
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ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, USA) in 2000
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IEAust (The Institution of Engineers, Australia) in 2002
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ABEEK (Accreditation Board for Engineering Education of Korea) in 2004
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IEET (Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan) in 2005
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CAST (China Association for Science and Technology) in 2007
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NAQAAE (The National Authority for Quality Assurance and accreditation in Education, Egypt) in 2009.
These memoranda incorporate mutual agreements to observe accrediting activities, to participate in evaluator training, to exchange information concerning accreditation procedures, to enhance quality of higher education, and to develop substantial equivalency in accreditation systems under the Washington Accord.
In May 2010, domestically, JABEE, IPEJ (The Institution of Professional Engineers, Japan), and JSEE (Japanese Society for Engineering Education) signed a tripartite MOU to share information relating to engineering education and mobility of the engineers in Southeast and East Asia in particular. The three parties agree to collaborate and to have common understanding in order to increase the presence of Japan.
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