By: Frank Marples

Frank Marples — Fri, 24 Dec 2021 15:58:31 +0000

CEng MICE – 24 carat or fools’ gold?
The post-nominals CEng MICE are generally recognised as the gold standard but will become fools’ gold if the ICE grants them to Chartered Infrastructure Engineers (CIE). We need to understand how CEng MICE is achieved to understand why it is the gold standard qualification.
MICE alone cannot be considered to be the gold standard as it is given to all Chartered, Incorporated and Technician members of ICE. Similarly CEng cannot be considered to be the gold standard as other institutions/ institutes have routes by which it is achieved.
Currently CEng MICE requires a consistent academic base, with a core curriculum set by JBM on behalf of ICE , I Struct E etc. Reviewers rely on this process and recognise that the CPR is not a further academic test. This fundamental principle is underlined by the Technical Report Route, which includes an additional part of the PR for academic assessment. According to UKSPEC applicants should attend a formal interview with Reviewers, who are competent and trained to undertake this kind of assessment. When carried out to these standards society and industry recognise CEng MICE as the gold standard qualification.
The proposed CIE will have a variable academic base. The curriculum is not set or moderated by the EC or by ICE/JBM.
The Director of Membership suggested a degree suitable for the Institute of Acoustics so we must consider whether the IOA’s processes are rigorous, or at least as rigorous as ICE’s. Candidates make a submission to three individuals who are MIOA, but not necessarily trained and competent to undertake CPR, who check the qualifications and assess the candidate’s experience. If satisfied they propose the individual is admitted as a member. If the ICE had this procedure then the CPR pass rate would be 100%. This must then bring into doubt the IOA’s degree accreditation procedure. If the ICE accepts IOA accredited degrees the gold standard will be de-valued as individuals are not being assessed to the same standards as Chartered Civil Engineers. The ICE CPR premise of reliance on the JBM process goes out of the window.
We will end up with two different streams within the membership, assessed with unequal rigor. This cannot be good for the cohesion of our Institution and will tarnish the gold standard of CEng MICE.
Civil Engineers have been designing and constructing infrastructure for over 200 years and all would be hard pressed to find a civil engineering project which did not include at least two of the core academic subjects required by JBM. The use of CEng MICE for CIEs will devalue the gold standard and all members will see a diminishing return, in the long term, from this new found fools’ gold. This is the full version of my letter submitted for NCE January 2022

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By: Frank Marples