An Engineering Future

In the book " The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts ", the authors Prof Richard Susskind of University of Oxford and Daniel Susskind discuss the replacement of technologists and professionals in a wide range of professions by automation systems and non-technology non-professionals, essentially machine operators and maintainers. One of the dramatic developments of technology over last half-century is near total disappearance of certain jobs. However, for us engineers, it was heartening to know that those jobs that went away were not professional jobs requiring deep expertise and a broad set of capabilities. Among the lost jobs were telephone switchboard operators, lift operators and the typist pool of companies. But as Bob Dylan sang way back in 1963, "The Times They Are a-Changin'" and advances in computer engineering, information technology and ubiquity of Internet is causing professional job categories to move t

The ENGINEERING COUNCIL, SRI LANKA ACT, No. 4 OF 2017 is an Act to provide for the establishment of the Engineering Council, Sri Lanka which shall be responsible for the maintenance of professional standards and conduct of engineering practitioners; registration of different categories of engineering practitioners; and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The Constitution of the Council includes, in addition to four ex-officio members, thirteen other members appointed by the Minister. The Minister is empowered to appoint seven Chartered Engineers representing different engineering disciplines in rotation for every two years. These Chartered Engineers shall be nominated by the IESL for appointment by the Minister. The upcoming Council Election provides the members of IESL an opportunity to establish a Council for session 2017/2018 that will put in place a transparent and inclusive process to select members for the Engineering Council.

A report by the Geneva based World Economic Forum titled " New Vision for Education - Unlocking the Potential of Technology " has identified 4 key areas for policymakers to concentrate on. The skills needed in the 21st century The 21st-century skills gap The potential of technology to help close the skills gap System-wide priorities for stakeholders The apex engineering and technology professional organizations such as IESL have a pivotal role to play in influencing and promoting public policy on education to be STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) oriented, which is one of the key skills gap area. The upcoming Council Election provides the members of IESL an opportunity to select representatives who are committed to achieve above goal.

Establishment of a Board of Academic Administration for the IESL College of Engineering Introduction The IESL College of Engineering (IESL CoE) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the IESL established under the Companies Act No 7 of 2007. Therefore, under the provisions of the said Act and the Articles of Association (AoA) of this private limited liability company, its governance is the sole responsibility of the duly appointed Board of Directors of IESL CoE. According to the AoA the company, the Board consists of the Officers of the Council of the IESL. For the success of the IESL CoE, which has the vision to be the "Premier Higher Educational Institution in Engineering" in Sri Lanka justifying its name brand association with IESL and with the mission to "Achieve Enduring Excellence in Education and Research in Engineering", it is essential to attract the best analytically minded and innovation oriented young people to its undergraduate enr

Minimum Qualifications Standard as Academic Staff Recruitment Criteria to the IESL College of Engineering Introduction The IESL College of Engineering (IESL CoE) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the IESL established under the Companies Act No 7 of 2007. Therefore, under the provisions of the said Act and the Articles of Association (AoA) of this private limited liability company, its governance is the sole responsibility of the duly appointed Board of Directors of IESL CoE. According to the AoA the company, the Board consists of the Officers of the Council of the IESL. The IESL CoE established with a mission to "Achieve Enduring Excellence in Education and Research in Engineering" has among its vision to be the "Premier Higher Educational Institution in Engineering" that would be a "benchmark for Engineering Education", the "trend setter in the Engineering Education", and the "setter of Engineering Education Servi

Minimum Achievement Standard as Entry Qualification Criteria to the IESL College of Engineering Study Programs Introduction The IESL College of Engineering (IESL CoE) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the IESL established under the Companies Act No 7 of 2007. Therefore, under the provisions of the said Act and the Articles of Association (AoA) of this private limited liability company, its governance is the sole responsibility of the duly appointed Board of Directors of IESL CoE. According to the AoA the company, the Board consists of the Officers of the Council of the IESL. At present the Entry Qualification to the study programs of IESL CoE is a minimum of 3 Simple passes at G.C.E. Advanced Level (A/L) in Mathematics stream or its equivalent. It should be noted that this often cited minimum criteria of 3 Simple passes established by the State is to indicate a Pass in the overall G.C.E. A/L examination and is not an academic achievement established to determ

Protecting the Independence of the IESL as Washington Accord Accreditor for Sri Lanka The IESL has as its primary objective "to promote and advance the science and practice of engineering in all its branches in Sri Lanka". This is defined in Act No. 17 of 1968, the act of incorporation of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka. An important milestone in this endeavor was reached in 2014 when IESL obtained the full membership of the Washington Accord (WA) of the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) providing for international level standardization of the engineering degree programs of universities in Sri Lanka, mutual recognition of accredited degrees among member countries that include the leading industrialized nations in the world, and facilitating the mobility of skilled engineering professionals in the new globalized economy. Therefore, it is important to safeguard the independence of the IESL in its role as an accreditor from its other role as a facilitator of engin

Provision of Online Electronic Voting Facility Corporate Membership The IT & Communication Engineering Sectional Committee of the IESL has been at the forefront of the initiative to provide e-Voting facility for corporate members for Council elections. That activity has been successful and the 2017 Council elections will offer members the option of using online e-Voting. The sectional committee will continue with its effort to improve the use of e-Voting in Council activities including for obtaining views of the membership on important national and professional issues.

Resolution to change the name of the Information Technology & Communication Engineering Sectional Committee of the IESL Background to the Resolution The Institute of Engineers, Ceylon, Act, No. 17 of 1968 that incorporated IESL (and amended subsequently as Act, No. 3 of 1996), provides for the formation of Sectional Committees to engage in learned society activities. In the Schedule of By-laws of the IESL, the By-law 98 specifies the presently approved sectional committees that are aligned to different areas of engineering specialization and practice. The engineering specialization of a professional engineer in Sri Lanka is mainly determined by the specialization of the bachelors degree in engineering obtained by the practitioner. There are 7 state universities under the University Grants Commission (UGC) with engineering faculties offering bachelors honours degrees in engineering. University of Peradeniya (UoP), Faculty of Engineering offers