Today, UESA published the following update regarding the Engineering Warrant and MCAST students:
Following a meeting between UESA, KSU, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board of Engineers and the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, which took place on the 25th September 2018, UESA discussed the resolution mandated by the Extraordinary General Meeting of 13/09/2018.
In our meeting there was a widespread agreement on the principle of one profession, one standard. This augurs well for future developments.
The Chairman and Vice Chairman of the board and the Minister were sympathetic to our request in having the programme of study of the previous MCAST Engineering Course, of the proposed amended course as well of the abridgement course published on accessible media.
Dr. Noel Camilleri as Chairman emphasised that the upcoming abridgement course will be verified by an international organisation, ENEA which will make sure that the content of this course contains the material that was absent or incomplete in the previous course. Discussions are underway to ensure that this course is composed of 30-60 ECTS credits.
The new course by MCAST during its initial years will be reviewed periodically by multiple international reviewing organisations. This will ensure that the standard promoted by ASIIN through their recommendations is retained.
The representatives from the Board of Engineers and the Minister stated that the reports by ASIIN which audited the courses of MCAST and the University of Malta can only be published with the consent of MCAST, the University of Malta and then the Board itself. UESA unequivocally appeals for these reports to be published and we request all parties to give their consent.
Whilst UESA acknowledges that the entry requirements to a course is not set by the Engineering Board, we appeal for this requirement to be on par with that of the University of Malta i.e. a grade C or better in both Pure Mathematics and Physics. For those choosing the A Level route to an engineering course, attaining these grades is a fundamental part of one’s eventual formation as an engineer.
UESA commits itself to follow this ongoing process, as representatives of all engineering students at the University of Malta the interests of our members remains at the centre of our activity in this regard. We look forward to keeping a spirit of dialogue and consultation with all relevant stakeholders.