It is crucial for the engineering program at Fiji National University (FNU) to produce graduates of international standard, as required by the Washington Accord, according to Professor John Mo. He spoke at the Engineering Fiji (EF) meeting held on the FNU campus on Tuesday, emphasizing that FNU is educating future engineers who will become part of EF.
“This meeting is part of a series aimed at fostering a mutual understanding of the required standards,” stated Prof Mo to representatives from various sectors and EF council members. He highlighted that a key agenda item of the meeting was the Washington Accord requirement for professional engineers to operate in Fiji.
The Washington Accord is an international framework for accrediting engineering degrees at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels among its signatory countries.
FNU’s Dean of the College of Engineering and Technical Vocational Education and Training, Salabogi Mavoa, mentioned that the university hosted the meeting in recognition of the meaningful collaboration between FNU and EF.
The meeting was chaired by Terence Erasito, director of Erasito Consultants, and Vijay Krishnan, director of Engineered Designs Ltd, who is also the newly elected vice president of Engineering Fiji. The newly elected members of EF include Hamen Lodhia, re-elected president from Hamen Lodhia Engineers Pte Ltd, along with honorary secretary and treasurer Dr. Satyanand Singh, an associate professor at FNU, James Raman from Shri Singh and Associates Pte Ltd, Anil Kapadia from Kapadia Consultants Pte Ltd, Richard Sekiguchi, and Satish Patel.
Engineering Fiji is responsible for maintaining professional engineering standards in Fiji.