The first-ever Engineering graduates from UBC's Okanagan campus had something extra to celebrate at their Convocation ceremony this morning. They learned that the School of Engineering has received full accreditation from the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB).
"I have some wonderful news," said Doug Owram, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Principal of the Okanagan campus in his address to the graduates. "The School of Engineering has received full accreditation for all programs. Congratulations. My thanks to the faculty, staff and students who made it possible. The timing is brilliant, because today we are graduating our first Engineering class."
The Okanagan campus School of Engineering offers three engineering programs: Civil, Electrical, and Mechanical, all of which have been designed to be capable of achieving accreditation. The accreditation review of all three programs took place in January 2010.
"The School of Engineering's three programs have all received full accreditation for three years, which is the maximum accreditation period attainable for new programs," says Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, Provost and Vice-Principal at UBC's Okanagan campus. "This achievement is the result of the hard work and dedication of many faculty, staff, and students, in addition to the leadership and direction from former Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science, Michael Isaacson, current Dean Tyseer Aboulnasr, and the Director of the School of Engineering, Spiro Yannacopoulos."
"This is a significant achievement," says Tyseer Aboulnasr, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science. "Accreditation indicates the strength of our programs and their acceptance within the professional community. We are very proud of what has been achieved by the School of Engineering over the past five years and the support and excellent relationships we have with industry."
"Our faculty, staff and students have accomplished a great deal through the accreditation process," says Spiro Yannacopoulos, Director of the School of Engineering. "We have developed a remarkable set of programs, taught by extraordinary professors who work with bright young students destined to become tomorrow's engineers. And it is particularly exciting for our first graduates to know that their School has achieved full, formal recognition as they head out into the professional community."
The CEAB consists of members from academia, industry, government and provincial engineering associations, and is the body responsible for reviewing and accrediting all engineering programs in Canada. Graduates from accredited programs are eligible to apply for professional registration without the need to demonstrate competency in technical subjects.
The School of Engineering was established in 2005. Today's graduating Class of 2010 included 56 students receiving the first-ever UBC Bachelor of Applied Science degrees conferred in the Okanagan.
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