Indian Engineering Degrees to Get Global Recognition

Indian Engineering degrees will soon be recognized internationally once the country becomes a permanent member of the Washington Accord (WA).

From June 2013, finding a job in any part of the world may become easier for Indian engineering graduates. This will become possible when the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) in India, under the aegis of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), becomes a permanent member of the Washington Accord.

The NBA has planned to invite the WA to audit its accreditation system in 2013 that is critical to become a permanent member. If India becomes a permanent member of the WA, Indian engineering degrees (B.Tech./B.E.) will be on a par with similar programmes offered by countries like the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Japan, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Malaysia and Turkey who are already permanent members of the WA.

"The impact of globalization in the present world scenario has necessitated trans-border migration of technologies, technicians and professionals to different countries at a much rapid pace than ever before. Therefore, it is imperative to evolve a quality assurance framework to bring the quality of technical and professional education imparted by institutions /universities of international repute to meet the global standards. The WA is an international agreement among bodies responsible for accrediting engineering degree courses. Its membership facilitates the mobility of engineering graduates and professionals globally for employment and career advancement."

Dinesh K Paliwal, member-secretary, NBA

So, how does it work?

"Only after NBA accredits a particular programme being taught in a particular institution or university after a thorough inspection (checking whether the course falls into the parameters as required by the WA), the course will be recognized globally ensuring smoother mobility for Indian engineers."

 Dinesh K Paliwal

According to Paliwal, for example, once NBA becomes permanent signatory of Washington Accord, if a student after obtaining a degree in any programme which is accredited by the NBA, in future decides to work abroad, s/he will not be required to prove his/her credentials by doing another course and duplicating efforts. The student’s degree will be accepted globally and s/he will be eligible for the international job market.

To acquire full signatory status to the WA, NBA has started work on creating international benchmarking for Indian engineering colleges and universities. There is still a lot of work which needs to be done on outcome assessment and accreditation before applying for a permanent status. As of now around 140 institutes have applied for accreditation under the new framework, says Paliwal.

Every member country requires undergoing regular monitoring for 5 years. India is presently under the status of a provisional member of the Washington Accord.