KUCHING – The Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) and Engineers Australia recently accorded full accreditation on engineering undergraduate programs offered by Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus.
These are Electronics and Computer Systems, Robotics and Mechatronics, Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.
Professor Anatoli Vakhguelt, who heads the School of Engineering, Computing and Science at Swinburne Sarawak, received an official letter dated 18 February from BEM awarding the accreditation and a certificate from Engineers Australia endorsing the programs, recently.
“The accreditation indicates the high regard BEM and Engineers Australia have for our engineering programs, as well as the quality of our facilities we have on campus that support these programs and our staff who conduct them,” Professor Vakhguelt said.
“The accreditation is also good news for our graduates as it means that they meet the high standards required by the two professional bodies,” he said, adding that it is also a boon to their career aspirations.
Saying that current and future students will also benefit from the endorsement he explained that only one program, Telecommunication and Network Engineering, is recognised by both BEM and its Australian counterpart and is awaiting full accreditation.
“This is because students of this program must first graduate before it is eligible for accreditation,” he said, adding that the first batch of Telecommunication and Network Engineering graduates will receive their scrolls next year.
Prior to awarding the accreditation, BEM and Engineers Australia officials conducted a two-day visit to the university to assess the quality of the programs, facilities as well as equipment and staff in October last year.
Swinburne Sarawak offers an array of engineering degree programs that are identical to those of its home campus in Melbourne, Australia.
Also of the same syllabus and subjects are undergraduate programs in science, business, design and ICT.
Last year Swinburne Sarawak was rated as an ‘Excellent’ university and awarded full accreditation status by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency.