What is

Accreditation is a quality certification that is awarded to an engineering program after a process of review and evaluation of the training it provides. For a program to obtain accreditation, it must demonstrate that it meets the accreditation criteria of Acredita CI.

Accreditation ensures that graduates of the degree are prepared to enter the professional practice of engineering and that they are people capable of designing and/or developing solutions to complex engineering problems. In these design and/or development processes, graduates demonstrate that they possess the attributes of the graduate established by the Agency.

The design and/or development of solutions to complex engineering problems refers to the design of systems, components or processes that meet specific needs with due regard to public health and safety, cultural, social, and environmental issues, where appropriate.

The process applies exclusively to the following programs:

  • Civil Engineering
  • Civil Engineering with any specialty: mechanical, electrical, environmental, mining, metallurgy, among others.
  • Forestry Engineering or similar.
  • Natural Resources Engineering or similar.
  • Agronomic Engineering or similar.
  • Food Engineering or similar.
  • Engineering of the Polytechnic Academies of the Armed Forces
  • Other Science-Based Engineering in Chile.

It is a requirement that the programs be taught by autonomous Higher Education Institutions, that they have two cohorts of graduates, and graduates practicing the profession.

The quality criteria of Acredita CI were adjusted to incorporate the criteria established by the Washington Accord. See Master Manual for the Accreditation of Science-Based Engineering programs. The criteria of the Washington Accord are administered by the International Engineering Alliance, IEA, www.ieagreements.org.

The accreditation of engineering requires the demonstration that students acquire the Graduate Attributes (minimum profile) proposed by the IEA, which are an integral part of the quality criteria of Acredita CI.

The Graduate Attributes for the 2021-2023 processes are:

Graduate Attributes

Definition

For Washington Accord (WA) Graduate

Engineering Knowledge:

WA1: Apply knowledge of mathematics, natural science, engineering fundamentals and an engineering specialization as specified in WK1 to WK4 respectively to the solution of complex engineering problems.

Problem Analysis

WA2: Identify, formulate, research literature and analyze complex engineering problems reaching substantiated conclusions using first principles of mathematics, natural sciences and engineering sciences. (WK1 to WK4)

Design/ development of solutions:

WA3: Design solutions for complex engineering problems and design systems, components or processes that meet specified needs with appropriate consideration for public health and safety, cultural, societal, and environmental considerations. (WK5)

Investigation:

WA4: Conduct investigations of complex problems using research-based knowledge (WK8) and research methods including design of experiments, analysis and interpretation of data, and synthesis of information to provide valid conclusions.

Modern Tool Usage:

WA5: Create, select and apply appropriate techniques, resources, and modern engineering and IT tools, including prediction and modeling, to complex engineering problems, with an understanding of the limitations. (WK6)

The Engineer and Society:

WA6: Apply reasoning informed by contextual knowledge to assess societal, health, safety, legal and cultural issues and the consequent responsibilities relevant to professional engineering practice and solutions to complex engineering problems. (WK7)

Environment and Sustainability:

WA7: Understand and evaluate the sustainability and impact of professional engineering work in the solution of complex engineering problems in societal and environmental contexts. (WK7)

Ethics:

WA8: Apply ethical principles and commit to professional ethics and responsibilities and norms of engineering practice. (WK7)

Individual and Team work:

WA9: Function effectively as an individual, and as a member or leader in diverse teams and in multi-disciplinary settings.

Communication:

WA10: Communicate effectively on complex engineering activities with the engineering community and with society at large, such as being able to comprehend and write effective reports and design documentation, make effective presentations, and give and receive clear instructions.

Project Management and Finance:

WA11: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of engineering management principles and economic decision-making and apply these to one’s own work, as a member and leader in a team, to manage projects and in multidisciplinary environments.

Lifelong learning:

WA12: Recognize the need for, and have the preparation and ability to engage in independent and life-long learning in the broadest context of technological change.

The Graduate Attributes for the processes 2024 onwards are:

Attributes are chosen to be universally applicable, to reflect minimum acceptable standards and to be objectively measured, and while all attributes are important, individual attributes do not necessarily carry the same weight. These are established generically, being applicable to all engineering disciplines. The program applies them within a disciplinary context, giving them a particular emphasis, but the individual elements applicable to each discipline should not be altered in substance or ignored.

This attributes “reflect requirements for new technologies and engineering disciplines, new pedagogies and values such as sustainable development, diversity and inclusion and ethics. They are well positioned to support the engineering role in building a more sustainable and equitable world” (Document of International Engineering Alliance “Graduate Attributes and Professional Competences” current as of 21 June 2021).

Graduate Attributes

Engineer Graduate

Engineering Knowledge:

1: Apply knowledge of mathematics, natural science, computing and engineering fundamentals, and an engineering specialization as specified in WK1 to WK4 respectively to develop solutions to complex engineering problems

Problem Analysis

2: Identify, formulate, research literature and analyze complex engineering problems reaching substantiated conclusions using first principles of mathematics, natural sciences and engineering sciences with holistic considerations for sustainable development* (WK1 to WK4)

Design/developm ent of solutions:

3: Design creative solutions for complex engineering problems and design systems, components or processes to meet identified needs with appropriate consideration for public health and safety, whole-life cost, net zero carbon as well as resource, cultural, societal, and environmental considerations as required (WK5)

Investigation:

4: Conduct investigations of complex engineering problems using research methods including research- based knowledge, design of experiments, analysis and interpretation of data, and synthesis of information to provide valid conclusions (WK8)

Tool Usage:

5: Create, select and apply, and recognize limitations of appropriate techniques, resources, and modern engineering and IT tools, including prediction and modelling, to complex engineering problems (WK2 and WK6)

The Engineer and the World:

6: When solving complex engineering problems, analyze and evaluate sustainable development impacts* to: society, the economy, sustainability, health and safety, legal frameworks, and the environment (WK1, WK5, and WK7)

Ethics:

7: Apply ethical principles and commit to professional ethics and norms of engineering practice and adhere to relevant national and international laws. Demonstrate an understanding of the need for diversity and inclusion (WK9)

Individual and Collaborative Team work:

8: Function effectively as an individual, and as a member or leader in diverse and inclusive teams and in multi-disciplinary, face-to-face, remote and distributed settings (WK9)

Communication:

9: Communicate effectively and inclusively on complex engineering activities with the engineering community and with society at large, such as being able to comprehend and write effective reports and design documentation, make effective presentations, taking into account cultural, language, and learning differences.

Project Management and Finance:

10: Apply knowledge and understanding of engineering management principles and economic decision-making and apply these to one’s own work, as a member and leader in a team, and to manage projects and in multidisciplinary environments.

Lifelong learning:

11: Recognize the need for, and have the preparation and ability for i) independent and life-long learning ii) adaptability to new and emerging technologies and iii) critical thinking in the broadest context of technological change (WK8)

*Represented by the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDG)

A program accredited by Acredita CI today, in its capacity as Provisional Member of the Accord, enters a select group of engineering programs that meet standards comparable in their educational processes to those of the member countries of the Washington Accord, which ensures that the engineer is prepared to face professional performance at an international level and that he/she meets certain minimum competencies with similar characteristics, giving to the program, the Academic Unit on which it depends, and the University; an outstanding recognition of the international community because of this.

Once Acredita CI is a full member of the Washington Accord, those graduates of engineering programs accredited by Acredita CI will be able to access simplified recognition processes for their degrees in most of these 21 countries, which substantially facilitates their employment insertion, which It fulfills the purpose of the IEA to promote the professional mobility of engineers in the world, a purpose that is fully shared by the Colegio de Ingenieros Chile.

Accreditation ensures that the graduates of engineering programs accredited by Acredita CI, are people capable of designing or developing solutions to complex engineering problems at the time of their degree, although they require at least three years of initial professional practice, to fully strengthen these skills.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, Accreditation respects the characteristics and purposes of the institution that teaches the program and its graduate profile, which normally considers the country’s culture, the region in which the institution is inserted and its contribution to the development of the country. The Graduate Attributes establish a minimum profile that the program must consider in its educational process.

A program accredited by Acredita CI at present, as a provisional member Agency of the Accord, enters a select group of engineering programs that meet standards comparable in their training processes to those of the member countries of the Washington Accord, which ensures that the engineer is prepared to face professional performance at the international level and that he satisfies certain minimum competencies and similar characteristics, giving to the program, to the Faculty on which it depends and to the University; an outstanding recognition of the international community for that.

Once Acredita CI is a full member of the Washington Accord, those graduates of engineering programs accredited by Acredita CI will be able to access simplified processes for the recognition of their degrees in most of those 21 countries, which facilitates their labor insertion, thus fulfilling the purpose of the IEA to promote the professional mobility of engineers in the world. A purpose fully shared by the Colegio de Ingenieros de Chile.

The accreditation ensures that graduates of engineering program accredited by Acredita CI, are people capable of designing or developing solutions to complex engineering problems at the time of their degree, although they require at least three years of initial professional practice, to fully strengthen these skills.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the accreditation respects the characteristics and purposes of the institution that teaches the program and its graduate profile, which normally considers the culture of the country, the region in which the institution is inserted and its contribution to local development. The Graduate Attributes establish a minimum profile that the program must consider in its training process.