ECSA’s functions relating to engineering education stem from education  requirements for registration. The criteria to be met  to register in a professional category with ECSA are twofold:

• The applicant must meet the education requirement defined by the ECSA council for the category; and
  The applicant must demonstrate competence against standards determined by the ECSA Council for the category.

Quality engineering education is therefore an essential part of professional development.

The educational requirements for registration may be met in several ways:

• Accredited qualification: The attainment of a qualification accredited by ECSA for the category of registration is the first stage toward becoming registered in the category.
• Recognised Qualification: Holding a qualification accredited by a signatory to an international educational agreement;
• Educational Evaluation: The applicant submits detailed documentation of his or her qualification(s) to ECSA for evaluation to establish whether it is substantially equivalent to and accredited qualification. If the qualification does not meet all the requirements, this process may be extended to examination of the applicant by ECSA or other bodies determined by ECSA.

ECSA has legal empowerment and processes to accredit engineering programmes offered by South African higher education providers, to establish international recognition agreements and to evaluate qualifications that are not accredited or recognised. In addition, ECSA promotes the quality of engineering education programmes and  policies and practices to increase the number of graduates to meet national needs.

The accompanying pages give detailed information on the following engineering education topics: 

• Accreditation of Engineering programmes, including:
  • Accreditation of Engineering Programmes, that is BEng or BSc(Eng)-type programmes
  • Accreditation of Technology Programmes, that is National Diploma and  BTech programmes
  • Agreement on Accreditation with Council on Higher Education
  • Qualifications for Certificated Engineers
  • Changes to Accreditation Process and qualification structure for technology programmes
• International Recognition of Qualifications
• Recognition of ECSA-accredited Programmes  by Signatories of International Educational Agreements
• Evaluation of Qualifications
• Benchmarking Qualifications
• Education Policy Advisory Function
  • Liaison with Education Providers