Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) attained professional accreditation from the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM) of the United Kingdom (UK) for civil engineering programmes under its Faculty of Engineering recently.
JBM represents five UK professional engineering institutions: the Institution of Civil Engineers; the Institution of Structural Engineers; the Institute of Highway Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation; and the Permanent Way Institution.
The accredited master’s degree programmes are the new MSc in Civil Engineering and MSc in Water Resources and Environmental Engineering.
Both are accredited as meeting the requirements for further learning for chartered engineers for those who already have a bachelor’s degree with partial accreditation.
Meanwhile, the accreditation are also for the BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering and the BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering with Structural Engineering programmes, both four-year full-time programmes.
Both are accredited as fully satisfying the academic base for an incorporated engineer and partially satisfying the educational base for chartered engineers.
According to Civil Engineering Programme Area leader Dr Lim Pang Jen, both bachelor’s degree programmes benefits from strong links with industry, and include two months of internship in local or overseas organisations to prepare graduates well for work and further study.
The programmes continue to evolve to meet professional requirements, including increased focus on sustainable development and climate change. Their reputation is also reflected in the QS Stars, where Civil and Structural Engineering scored the maximum five stars in programme strength.
The MSc in Civil Engineering programme was first offered for the July 2021 intake and caters to the needs of the construction industry, including through the provision of the part-time programme for working professionals.
The UTB-JBM Accreditation Coordinator and Senior Assistant Professor Dr Uditha Ratnayake, also shared that JBM accreditation is based on the sufficiency of the civil engineering knowledge gained by the graduates to begin their career as an entry level engineer with any civil engineering employer.
During their visit, the JBM independently evaluated students’ academic works and held dialogues with students, staff, industry representatives and potential employers on the expectations, achievements, employability, and future plans.
Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Professor Dr Ramesh Singh Kuldip Singh added that the qualifications are recognised internationally for work and further study, and are credentials towards becoming chartered engineers and model professionals.
With this accomplishment, UTB joins the ranks of many well-established universities in the UK and elsewhere in terms of providing quality civil engineering education that meets the stringent quality requirements of the professional engineering institutions.
