Japanese Society for JapaneseSociety forEngineering Engineering Education Education
- fohoku August 21th,201O Proceedingsof 2elO JSEEAnnual Conference
Cooperation and Networking in EE: Spreading the European Way QA and Accreditation(EUR-ACESPREAD)
of
Claudio Borrii and ElisaGuberti2 1. Prof Claudio Borri - Vice Dean fbr InternationalRelations and Full Professor of Computational Mechanicsof Stmctures- Facoltadi Ingegneria, Universita di Firenze- Presidentof SEFI 2005-07 and Founding President of IFEES 2006-08 Co-ordinatorof EUGENE Academic Netwotk
(
[email protected]); 2. Dr. Elisa Guberti - Head Firenze- ProjectManager
of
of the International Relations Office - Facolta di Ingegneria,Universirddi EUGENE Academic Network (
[email protected]).
Abstract In
recent years European coeperation projectshave wotked successfu11y towards the developmentof the European Higher EchicationArea: severa1 important results have been achieved by facing the grandchaIlenges of Arnong theseones: to complete the Bolegna Process, to attract to engineering studies some of the near future. the bestyoung minds, te offer good LLL opportunities, to broadentheformation to include non-technical skills without loweringthescientificltechnical Ievel of the learning precess, to enhance the collaboration between uniyersities and enterprises on edncational issuesand, lastbut not least. to develop,testand spread a European system of(}uality Assurance forthe accreditation of Engineering Prograrnmes(the EUR-ACE System). European EngineeringEdueationshall now definitely leek beyond thebordersof theold continent, aiming to economies. affirm itsqualityand irnprove itsattractiveness across the Atlantic and in newly emerging At the
and GIQbalENgineeringEducation), a new EuropeanAcademic Network present rnoment, EUGENE (EUropean in the field of Engineering Education supported by the Eutopean Comrnission within the LLP prograrmneis opening itself to thecooperation with aeademics, students, industrialists and professional worldwide: the partners urnbrella for thiscooperation has just been established through IFEES and could serve brilliantly to this scope. Eventually, itisexpected thatthe EUR-ACE accreditation system will further spread throughoutEurope and gain importance at global scale.
Kaywords: Engineering Education, Accrecfitation, EUR-ACE; Network. 1.
EUGEIVE
Acadernie
Introduction
Now, more than ever, collaboration across bordersamong universities is absolutely necessary. The strength of within European Union countries universities, the longstanding tradition of Europe in the HE secter, and, partnerships more recently, the unfolding of the global economy, validate the case for deepened - and internationalised ahead isto foeus on ways of extendmg the EU model collaboration, The biggestchallenge to thirdlocations. Thiswi11enrich immensely theuniversities ofboth countries, foster thegrowth of an open, competitive and accessible HE sector in other nations, and constitutes a vitally important forrnof soft diplomacy and power. - ifframedby ambitious initiatives - thedevelopmentof a `global Most critically,itwill foster civil society' which will bind imiversities and countries together through common and values and principles, counter the centripetal forces of the era, globalised In thiscontext a new TherriaticNetwork (Academic Netwotk in LLP) withthemain goal of improvingthe impact of EEE on competitiveness, imoyationand socio-economic grow(h in a globalcontext hasbeen recently apprQved by the DG Education and Culture of theEuropean Commission. EUGENE (EUropeanand Global ENgineering Education) will cover the periodOct.2009 - Sept,2012 and itsoverall aim will be thatone of settingLup a top-levei & cretion" to fo11owthe continueus evolution of EE in Europe and enhance itscompetitive foxttrn prefile worldwide theborders). (opening The imprevement of trans-nationalmobility and recognition of engineering students, graduates and professionals, also through contacts and synergies with theInternational Engineering Allianceand the Washington Accord, is among the activity Lines of EUGENE and thispaper aims prirnarilyat presenting the actual situation of Engineering Accreditation in Eurepe with a panicularattention to the EUR-ACE System. EUR-ACEi isa Europe-basedsystem in which a cemmon label(EUR-ACE@ label)is awarded to engineering quality "dtscussion
i
Acronyms are definedwhen theyfirst appear bnt,to facilitate read ing, are thepaper.
also collected
inan
ad-boc
Appendix at the
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basic set of standards programmes thatsatisfy a common CEUR-ACEFramewetk Standardsfor the Accreditation of Engineering Programmes and are accredited by an Agency fu1fi11ingappropriate Quality [1]) Assuranee (QA)prescriptions,in particular the Standardsand GuidelinesforQuality Assurance in Higher educatienal
"Eurepean
Ectucation" (ESG)adopted in 2005 within the EUR-ACE labelensures the suitability of the aQcredited "Belogna
accreditation"), C`pre-professional
Process"by the Bergen Ministerial Conference [2].The programme as entry route to the engineering profession
At the ICEE 20e7 held in Coimhra, EUR-ACE and ENAEE (the European Network for Accreditation of EngineeringEducation, established in February 2006 to nm the EUR-ACE system) were presented in a panel discussion at a Plenary Session[3] and ina contributed paper [4]. Sincethattime, EUR-ACE started itsimplementation throughout the European Higher Educatien Area (EHEA).Six Agencies (`Commission des Titresd'lngenieur' [CTI],France; EngineeringCouncil[EngC], UK; EngineersIreland; Ordem dos Engenheiros[OE], Portugal; Agency for Study Prograrnsin Engineering, Informatics, Natural Sciencesand Mathematics' [ASIIN], Germany; Russian Association forEngineering Education[RAEE], Russia)are autherized since November 2006 to award the EUR-ACE label; a seventh Agency (`Association forEvaluation and Accreditation of Engineering Programs' [MUDEK], Turkey) was added inJanuary2009,At the time of writing (June 201O) a totalof approximately 480 labelshave been awarded, - illustrated while several contacts and initjatives in a 1aterSection - are open to spread EUR-ACE in other countries Denmark, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlarids, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, ...) either by authorizing other (Belgium, newly created) Agencies to award the EUR-ACE label,or thanks to the activity of already authorized (possibly Agencies(CTI. ASIIN, EngC, RAEE) out oftheir ewn countryL EUR-ACE has been quotedas an example of good practiceof QA inHigher Education in an olficial report by the European Commission [5]and in an EU publication issuedon theoccasion of theMarch 2010 Anniversary Conference"[6]. Both theEUR-ACE Frarnewotk Standards and the EUR-ACE system will be described in thispaper.However, since the initial stages of EUR-ACE and ENAEE have been already illustrated in Joumals,books and Conferences thispaper,albeit being selfcontained, focuses on the latestdevelopments, [7]-[14], `Accreditation
"Bologna
2.
TheEUR-ACEFrameworkStandards
At thevery beginningof theEUR-ACE
exercise, a preliminary detailed survey of the standards used by thespecialized throughout Europe revealed suiking similarities behind different fttgades, Thismade accreditation standards and procedurescomparatively easy: the result was the first draftofthe Framewotk Standards". Unlike the old national rules that prescribedinputsin term of subject areas and teaching loads,the EUR-ACE Framewotk fo11owsthetrend of themost recent Standards, and defineand require outcomes", thatis,what must be learned rather than how itistaught. This approach thathas several direct advantages, 1ike: 1 . itrespects themmy existing traditionsand methods of engineering education in Europe; 2. itcan accemmodate developmentsand innovation in teaching methods andpractices; 3. Itencourages thesharing ofgeod practice among the different traditiensand metheds; 4. itcan accemmodate thedevelopmentofnew branchesofengineering. [[heEwn-ACE FraxneworkStandardswere finalized in 2006 together with an explanatory after successive versions had been commented on by the projectpartners and other stakeholders, both academic and non-acadernic, and trial accreditations were run in a number ef EHEA countries to test theirefficacy. Minor modifications have been made in2008 [1][15]. A thoroughrevision iscurrently (201O) under way, togetherwith a eheck engineering accreditation agencies the compilation of a set of shared [`EUR-ACE
"learriing
"Commentary",
of
theirconsistency with otheT
changes
are
significant
Standardsand prescriptions theESG), but not (inparticular
many
significant
expected.
In accord with the Eurepean Qualification Frameworks QF-EHEA[16] and EQF-LLL [17] theEUR-ACE Standards distinguish between First and Second Cycle degrees:indeed, they address the five genericqualification dimensions definedat each levelin [16][17] by specifying and expanding them with regard to engineering a detailed critical (for comparison, see [18]), talcingalso intoaccount theEU Directive on theRecognition ofProfessional Qualifications [19]. In particular, the EUR-ACE Standardsidentify 21 programme outcomes forFirstCycle degrees(FCD)and 23 for Second CycleDegrees(SCD), grouped under six headings: Knowledgeandunderstanding Engineeringanalysis Engineeringdesign .
.
.
Investigations Engineeringpractice Transferableskills The EUR-ACE Standardsalso . .
.
requirements,
ofthe
In order to be as
corrtain guidelines and procedures thatincludethe assessment, arnong other human resources and facilities availatble for the programme. flexible as possible,and not to exclude any European-compatible and comprehensive acereditation
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theEUR-ACE Staridards encompass all engineering disciplines and profiles,and distinguish only between First Second Cycle degrees(FCD,SCD), However, the Standards are also applical)le to the accreditation ofprogrammes leadmg directly to a degree equivalent to a Second Cycle Degree (conventionally termed Pregramnes'), which constitute an important partof European engineering education, especially butnot only in theoldest continental TbchnicalUniversities and Scheols, in some European coulltries, in addition to the distinetion between FC and SC degrees,engineering degreesare chaTacterised by profiles;rnoreover, accreditation distinguishesbetween engineering branches (disciplines) in seme countries, and not in others. The EUR-ACE Framework Standards can accommodate all thesedifferences buttheymust be interpreted, and, ifnecessaryl integrated to reflect the specific demands of different branches, cyeles and profiles. However, they leaveto Higher Ecfucation Institutes the freedem to forrnulate (HEIs) pregrammes with an individual emphasis and characteg includingnew and innovative prograrnrnes,and to prescribe conditions for entry into each pregramme. A major difTiculty in establishing and verifying theactual achievement of Iearning outcomes, and of differentiating betweencycles, isthat of specifying an absolute standard, Thisistrue forany outeome-based Standard, butparticularly so in engineering because the standard nmst apply consistently to the many different and overlapping branches, and should also be applicableto new branches thatcontinuously emerge as a result of scientific and technica]developments. The EUR-ACE Framework expresses thelearningoutcomes to be achieved by FC and SC graduates in the three directengineering requirements Analysis", Design" and by the phrase ("Engineering "consistent with their levelof knowledge and understanding", and this levelis describedusing the concept of the forefrontof the particular braneh of engineeimg. For instance,in the requirement and Understandmg" the "coherent relevant phrase isforFirstCycle graduates, knowledge of theirbranchof engineering including some at the system,
and
CIntegrated
"Engineering
"Investigations")
"Knowledge
forefrentof the braneh"
It would
be
and
for Second Cycle graduates
"a
critical
awareness
of
the
forefrontof theirbranch".
difficult, if not impossible, to obtain an agreed specification of the forefront for all engineering disciplines,and, even ifthiscould be obtained, a fixed specification might inhibit innovation in prograrnme design and teaching methods. Nor would it be relevant or applicable te new and emerging technologies. The identification ef the forefront of the branch istheresponsibility of themembers of theaccrediting panel who are experts in thatparticularbranchof engineering, while the body responsible forthe finalaccreditation verdict will review and assess therationale fortheirdecision, Note finallythatthe EUR-ACE Framework has been talcen,togetherwith the ABET criteria [20], as thebasisef a "Concqptual Framework of expectedfdesired LearningOutcomes in Engineering"developedby theOECD-sponsored Tuning-A}IELO project [21],that in tm should be the starting pointfor the furtherdevelepmerrts of the very ambitious OECD-supported AHELO initiative. extremely
3. TheEUR-ACEsystem The EURrACE Framework does not intendto substitute fornational standards, but to providea cemmon reference framewotk as thebasisfortheaward of a common European quality1abel(the EUR-ACEe 1ahel). ConsequentlMthe EUR-ACE appreach involvingtheactive panicipation of accreditation system was envisaged as basedon a bottom-up national accreditation agencies and leadingat the end to a multilatera1 mutual recognition agreement. A supra-national European Engineering AccreditationBoard was considered, but soon discarded and nevcr proposed:accreditation is and will remain the task of natienal (er regional) agencies; the EUR-ACE 1ahelwill be a complernent to the national accredhation, aimed at givingthem an international value. This decentralized approach, now being implemented, appears to be rather novel inthe world-wide ofprogramme accreditation systems. panorama lndeed, the variety ofeducational situations and of degreesawarded in Europe makes trans-nationalrecognition of academic and professional The already quoted Process"isworkmg towards qualificationssti11rather difficult, the creation of a hansparent systemof easily readable and comparal)le degreesin the European Higher Edncation Area accreditation and Tecogriition are concerned, no generally accepted system or (EHEA),butas faras professional agreement exists on a continenta1 scale: notwithstanding the prestige of national systems and academic titles, this deficiency weakens the positionofthe European engineer intheglobalemployment matket. `tpre-professional The importance of `accreditation' more accreditation", as definedin the (or, pTecisely, of Introduction)has been feltfor quitesome time, although the term did not appcar in Europeandocuments. As early as 1994,theEuropean Commission issueda communication on the possible synergies between the recognition of qualifications foracademic and professional In 1998-99 theEC-supported Thematic Network purposes[22], Engineering Education for Europe (H3E)"organized three Wbrkshops for Accreditation of Engineering Programmes', that lead to the estahlishment in September 2000 of the StandingObservatoryfor the EngineeringPrefession and Education'(ESOEPE). ESOEPE promoted theEUR-ACE prQject,and in order to run the system, was transforrned intothe international not-for-profit association Network fbr Accreditation of Engineering Education' and Agenciesinterested inengineering (ENAEE),foundedin February2006 by 13 Associations education throughoutEurepe.ENAEE has registered the EUR-ACEop trademark and anthorizes national Agencies to add the EUR-ACE labelto theiraccreditation authorization might be defined Further (this "Bologna
`accreditation'
"Higher
`European
aEuropean
`Eurepean
"meta-accreditation").
up-to-date
information is available
In November 2006,ENAEE
at www.enaee.eu.
assessed
thatsix Accreditation Agencies(CTI, ASIIN, EngineersIreland, Ordem dos 10
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Engenheiros, RAEE, EC-UK) from six countries (France, Germany, Ireland,Portugal,Russia, UK), all active partners of the EUR-ACE already fu1fi11ed the requirements set by the Frarnewotk Standards; hence, they were project, 1ahel fora periodof two years.Theirmeta-accreditation in authorized to award the EUR-ACE has been renewed December 2008 after a rigorous re-assessment inclucling site visits by multi-agency teams. process IXnroother EC-supportedprojects(EUR-ACEIMPLEMENTATION and PRO-EAST) have been active between 2006 and 2008, and greatly helped to start up the EUR-ACE system, respectively in the EU and in Russia. Seventy-three although only three agencies (73)programrnesobtained the EUR-ACE labelin the firstyear (2007), at the time of writing labelshas (ASIIN,Engineers Ireland,RAEE) contributed; (May 2010) thenumber of awarded raised to about 500. 4. SpreadingtheEUR-ACEsystem:currentinitiatiyes Although the six countries constituting the initial of the core of the EUR-ACE system were a significant sample EuropeanHigher EducationArea (EHEA), theirnumber was only ahoutone-seyenth (lf7) of the totalnumber of the EHEA counnies (grownto 47 with theaddition is cemmitted not only to of Kazakhstan in 201O), Therefore, ENAEE strengthen the EUR-ACE system inthese six countries, butalso to spread itintoother EHEA countries, A document indicatingthe conditions to be fu1fi11ed and the procedureto be fo11owedby an Agency in order to join the EUR-ACE system and therelevant application forrnhave been elaborated and another two-year EU-supported [23], EUR-ACE has on ISt Novetnber 2008. TIhisprojectis with the selfexplanatory name of SPREAD started project "national" targeted mainly te TtnkeM Litliuania, Romania, Italyand Switzerland: a in each of these countries partner in the while ENAEE is the coordinating participates prQject, partnez
The firstconcrete
Evaluation
achievement
of
EUR-ACE
SPREAD
of
the Turkish"Asseciortion
for
(MUDEKI)to the
initialsix EUR-ACE Agencies. moEK had begun accrediting programmes on behalfoftheTUrlcish Engineering Deans Councilin 2003, joined ENAEE in 2006, becamean independentAssociationin2007, and in2008 applied to beEUR-ACE-accredited.Aftera careful evaluation of the application and site visits by an ENAI]E-appointedpanel,on 21 January2009 MUDEK became the seventh Agency aLithorized to award theEUR-ACE labeland within thatyear awarded 29 FCD labels. Itisexpected thatAgenciesfrom the ether fourconcerned countries will also apply beforetheend of theprojeet(31 artd
Accreditation of Engineering Programs"
has been the addition
October2010). The formalconditions of Romania and Lithuaniawith regard to quality assurance in highereducation are rather similar to each other. A national Agency forthe whole higheredncation has been recently established the (respectively Agency fbr Quality Assurancein Higher Edncation'(ARACIS)and the Lithuanian forQuality Assessmentin Higher Edncation7(SKVC). ARACIS and SKVC have joined theEUR-ACE SPREAD project with the ultimate aim ofbeing admitted into the EUR-ACE system to accreditation of engineering forwhat pertains prograrnmes, TWo teams of three foreignexperts (defined have been entmsted by EUR-ACE SPREAD te fo11owand advise respectively ARACIS and SKVC inorder to bringthem to satisfy theENAEE Standards. For both ARACIS and SKVC, itishoped to conclude the processand includethe Agenciesintothe EUR-ACE system within thetwe-yearlifespan ofthe project. in ItaIMthe Nazionaleper laVlilutazione dell'Universita e dellaRicerca"(ANVUR)was the object of a 2007 decree, thathowever has not beenimplementedyet; thus, no quality assurance system or accreditation body for ltalianHigherEducationexists yet.However, the of theDeans of the Italian EngineeringFaculties' (Co?I) hasbeen concerned with accreditatien fora longtime: indeed,in the late CoPI elahorated a Systernfor Accreditation of EngineeringStudy Programmes'(SINAI), thatunfortunate]y remained at the stage of proposal,CoPI was one the foundersof ESOEPE in 2000, and one of the most aetive partners of the EUR-ACE and EUR-ACE IMPLEMENI[ATION thegeneral model behind the EUR-ACE Standardscoincides with projects:as a matter of fact, themodel behind thepilotprejectsof HE evaluation and mn between 1995 and 2004 by the of the Italian University Rectors'(CRUD with CoPI's collaboration, The EUR-ACE proposals have been surnmarized in a Xlo1ume pul)lishedby CePI [24]and illustratedin a two-day Wbrkshop heldin May 2008 [25]. Now, CRUI and CoPI, together with the Italian Engineers'Association`Consiglio NazionaledegliIngegneri' the (CNI), `Romanian
`Center
`mentors')
"Agenzia
`Conference
'90s
`Campus:
"National
`CampusOne',
`Conference
industrialists' Association (Confindnstria) and the Association of Commerce & industry Chamhers (Unioncarnere), are working to set up an Agency dedicatedto the EUR-ACE accreditation of engineering degreeprogranmies. EUR.-ACE SPREAD isfo11owing closely and supporting thisinitiative. Severalameng the EUR-ACE-accreditedAgenciesaccredit engineering prograrmiesalso outside theirown eeuntry: theyhavebeenauthorized to award theEUR-ACE labelto these programmes as well. Tliishas allowed to award the EUR-ACE label,thanks to an accreditation by ASIIN, to a few FC programmes in the French-speaking Gerrnan-speaking Switzerland, while some in the Switzerland are already accredited by prograrnmes CTI and can now obtain theEUR-ACE labeltoo. However, EUR-ACE SPREAD istrying to set up and implement a more systematic way to spread the EUR-ACE system into Switzerland: a grant with thisspecific objective has been received from the Swiss Government, and concrete proposals- thatshould invelve the Swiss National Quality
AssuranceAgency (OAQ)- are beingelaborated.
In March 2010 the Dutch-Flemish oliicial Accreditation Organization NVAO (theonly body legallyauthorized to HE programmes in the Netherlandsand in Flanders,i.e.theDutch-speakingpartof Belgium) hasforrnally
accredit
11
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agency (the
award
of
in charge
EUR-ACE
of quality assurance in thatregion), labels,Indeed, CTI has already awarded
and
will
run
theEUR-ACE
Military Academy in Brussels.
accreditation
visits
from 2012, includingthe
labelto a prograrnmeef the Belgian Royal
Also KAUT, the Polish Committee for Accreditation of TlechniealUniversities,has decided to apply forjoining EUR-ACE: theirapplication form isexpected inthe Summer 201O. FinallMseveral prograrmneshave been aecredited in Kazakhstan(the47thand 1atest country to join the label, while effbrts to set-up National Engineering Accreditation process")by RAEE. They will get the EUR-ACE "Bologna
Agenciesin CentralAsia countries have started. AnywaM single HEIs from any EHEA country can apply, either to a specific Agency or throughthe ENAEE Secretariat, to have theirprogrammes awarded theEUR-ACE 1ahel.This may be another way to start spreading the system intosome countries. The EUR-ACE labelrnay also be awarded outside theEHEA. indeed,sigtials of interest for thispessibilityhave already reached the ENAEE Headquarters and may be fo11owedin the near futureby concrete minatlves, called EUGENE and Global ENgineering Edueation), started in AnotherEU-supported3-yearprQject, (EUropeaii Nevember 2009 and isexpected to contribute to further strengthening and spreading of EUR-ACE. In facgwithin the innovation and the impact of European Engineeimg Ecfucationon competitiveness, genera1objectives of socio-econemic the EUGENE workplan devotesthe whole "Activity Line C", leadby growth in a global context", ENAEE, to the aim of trans-national mobility of engineering students, also graduatesand professionals, through corrtacts and synergies with theIniernational Ellgineering Allianceand theWiishingten Accerdi', ENAEE isalso active, either directlyor through in the successive stages of the OECD for globalinitiative "Assessment of Higher EducationLearningOutcomes (AHELO)"aimed at Leaming Outcomes on an internationalscale by creating measures thatwould be valid forall cultures and languages". in the preliminary stage of the AHELO initiative, the experts indicated by ENAEE have been instrurnental in formulatingthe that draws heavilyfrom the EUR-ACE Framework of ExpeetedfDesired Leaming Outcomes in Engineering" [21], Framework Standards. "improving
"improving
"experts",
"assessing
"Conceptual
5. Concludingremarks If coupled edncational
with
rigorous
assume relevant thisellect. An
Assurance Quality
isnot
programme
in the jobmarket.
roles
be, programme accreditation assures that an butalso thatitpreparesgraduateswho are ahleto Ilieparticipation of non-academic stakeholders in the processis a guaranteeto liketheEUR-ACE lal)el, added to the national accreditation, will qualification rules,
only ofacceptable
internationally recogriized
as
it should
academic
always
standard,
facilitate jobmobility as well. [26] It isfairto state that theEUR-ACE system, cempared withother existing trans-nationalengineering accreditation is at the same time simpler and more systcm,s and in particularwith theWlishington-Sydney-Dublin accords [27], flexible, In fact,centrary to the Washington and Sydney accords, EUR-ACE does not create a rigid barrier between and which would be against the spirit of the Bologna Process and in nmy languageseven not understandable; at the sarne time, EUR-ACE allows national dilferences and appropriate distinction between the `engineers'
"technologists',
cycles.
Benchrnatkingthe two
wi11 indeed be a major challenge for EUR-ACE; another wi11be testing the "branches" in our specific discipline and in itsdifferent ef Dtiblin (engineering) Descriptors, EQF and EU Directive on professional qualifications [18], But,apart from technical and operational difficulties, creating a pan-European scheme 1ikethenew-born EUR-ACE finds major difficulties in the greatdifferences between edncational practices, legal provisionsand system certainly across the different European countries. These are, however, the typical difficulties professional organizations encountered inbuildmg a unified, butnot homogenized,Europe.The fact, thatcommon Staridards could be written and can be new implementedfrom Portugal te Russia,in continental and Anglo-Saxoncountries, isa matter ofgreat pride forus, the initiators ofEUR-ACE. consistency
and
actual
systems
applicability
6. Acknowledgment The continuous E4, TREE and
support received
frorntheDG Network as well
"Edncation
and
Culture"ofthe European Cornmissionthroughtheprojects
EUR-ACE IMPLEMENTATION (2004-06), (2006-08), SPREAD is ackmwledged, The ambors are alsogratefu1 to themany (2008-10) and Associations thathave contributed, and stillcentribute to tbe EUR-ACE people,lnstitutions prejectsand the already mentioned Networks on Engineering Edncation.
PRO-EAST
new
EUGENE
and (2006-07)
as
EUR-ACE
EUR-ACE
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selection
8. Appendix:Acronymsusedinthepaper ABET: Accreditation Board forEngineeimg
and Tbchnology (USA) Education LearningOutcomes ASIIN: Accreditation Agency for Study Programs in Engineering, Informatics,Natural Sciencesand Mathematics fUr Studiengange der Ingenieurwissenschaften, der lnfomiatik, der (Fachalclcreditierungsagentur
AHELO:
Assessment
ofHigher
Naturwissen-schaften und derMathematik) CTI: Commission desTitresd'Ingenieur EC: EuropeanCommission Clbrmerly Commission of theEuropeanCommunities) EHEA: Eurepean Higher EdueationArea (the countries, now 47, participatinginthe ENAEE: EuropeanNetwork forAccreditation of Engineering Education EngC: Engineering Council,United Kingdom Engineers lreland Cfo,vnerly IEI: lnstitutionefEngineers, Ireland) EQF-LLL: European Qualifications Frarriewotk for Lifelong Learning
Process")
"Bologna
