Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Shavindranath Fernando
Immediate Past President
WHO IS AN ENGINEER ……… ?
• An engineer is a professional practitioner of
engineering, concerned with applying scientific
knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to
develop solutions for technical problems.
Engineers design materials, structures, machines
and systems while considering the limitations
imposed by practicality, safety and cost. The
word engineer is derived from the Latin root
ingenium, meaning "cleverness".
• Engineers are grounded in applied sciences,
and their work in research and development is
distinct from the basic research focus of
scientists. The work of engineers forms the
link between scientific discoveries and the
applications that meet the needs of society.
Therefore the central focus of the engineering
profession is the application of scientific knowledge
to meet societal needs.
On the other hand Engineers may pursue creative efforts
without involving analytical skills, and one may apply
analytical skills without entering the domain of creativity.
• For example, as engineers apply commercial
software to the solution of an engineering
problem, the application of analytical skills,
per se, may involve little or no creativity.
• On the other hand an Engineer may design an
ergonomic office space with little analytical
skills.
• Hence Let us now look at Engineering from
these perspectives.
Three aspects of Engineering
Three aspects of Engineering
Sector A: represents the intersection of purely
analytical talents with the engineering domain. This
may be used to represent engineering science, an
ability to model complex systems and predict their
response to various inputs under various
conditions. This segment of engineering has, of
course, been the subject of intense development over
the last half century and has benefitted most directly
from the availability of fast digital computers.
.
Three aspects of Engineering
Sector C: The intersection of our creative capacity
with the engineering domain, can be viewed as
representing those sudden intuitive leaps often
responsible for revolutionary advances in technology
called "significant novelty" as well as those aspects of
engineering, not yet fully supported by engineering
science, that remain more art than science
Three aspects of Engineering
Sector B : (the intersection of knowledge and need
with both creative and analytical capability) can be
used to represent engineering design and much "real
world" problem solving. This sector includes activities
ranging from developing innovative products and
processes, to creating an innovative bridge design, to
developing a new control process for petrochemical
production.
What about the other sectors in the
above figure represent?
Sector 1: the intersection of analytical skills with societal
needs outside the bounds of scientific knowledge might
include economics and philosophy.
Sector 3: may encompass the arts.
Sector 2: may be used to represent those societal needs
outside the bounds of scientific knowledge that required both
analytical and creative skills, perhaps including public policy,
business administration, and music.
Engineers Can not ignore the above very real
issues in the society !!
Engineers are creative problem solvers
What does the Accreditation Board
of USA say …
The Accreditation Board for Engineering and
Technology (ABET) of USA identifies engineering as
"that profession” in which knowledge of the
mathematical and natural sciences gained by study,
experience, and practice is applied with judgment
to develop ways to utilize, economically, the
materials and forces of nature "for the benefit of
mankind"
What Does the International Professional
Engineers Agreement say…
Engineer , Engineering Technologist and Engineering Technician
WHAT DO WE NEED OUR ENGINEERS TO BE ?
• SPEAK-UP, LISTEN: Open and always in a
talking mood, does not ration words
• WRITE WELL: Clear and logical writing, in
whatever they write. Fiercely careful about
accuracy.
• GOOD MANNERS: Courteous, well mannered.
• DRESS WELL: Be smartly dressed to suit the
occasion.
• READ WELL: Such a lot of media, news
channels
• WORK HARD
Are you ready to face the challenge?
Professional Review Examination
• IESL tests the candidates on:
(i) professional experience and
(ii) knowledge on general issues faced by engineers
and the society they work in
• Comprise of :
a) Viva- voce – an oral examination (shorten form viva)
simply means an interview aimed at assessing one’s
knowledge.
b) “A” paper which is prepared specifically to examine
the candidate on his specific experience and
c) “B” paper aimed at testing the candidate’s
knowledge on engineer’s role in society and general
affairs
What do we examine at IESL B Paper
• In Engineering Council (UK) Examination there is a
specific subject called “Engineer in Society”
• We at IESL call it B Paper and we test the knowledge
on general issues faced by engineers and the society
they work in
• But we have a syllabus which is very wide and relate
to day to day issues we as Engineers face in society.
• How many have looked at it?
• Have you gone through some of the lectures done
last year?
• Are you aware of the structure of the B Paper?
• Have you gone through the pass papers and
attempted to do them. What about kuppi???
Paper B The Structure and emphasis – Communication Skills, Code
of Conduct and awareness of events taking place in the Society
1. Written Paper B would be of 03 hours duration and will consist of two Sections. Section I will
be on Engineering Ethics and Code of Conduct whilst Section II will be on topics based on issues
taking place in society, both local and foreign, and in other spheres other than engineering that
has direct impact on the society.
2. Out of the questions in Section II, half of the questions will be on topics of general nature
where specific knowledge about the area subjected to the question is not necessarily required
to answer them. Candidates are usually asked to analyse, express opinions, comment, giving
views, elaborate etc. on certain issues taking place in the society. A candidate who is generally
sensitive to what is taking place around him and who can form his opinion about them should
be able to answer these questions without difficulty.
The other half of questions (about 04) will be based on specific pre-identified areas, the list of
which will be revised and published by the IESL periodically and sufficiently in advance.
Candidates can read and gather information about these areas either by reading the write-ups
provided by the Institution on them or by self-study.
3. Candidates are required to answer four (04) questions; selecting one (01) from Section I and
three (03) from section II. Candidates can select any mix of questions irrespective of the type
in Section II.
4. Each question will carry 25 marks and the pass mark for the paper will be 50.
IESL will be testing you on...
• 1. Communication skills - The art of communicating clearly, concisely and
intelligibly in English. The art of structuring an answer, the beginning, the
body and the conclusion, presentation and the flow, transition from one
point to another, proper use of paragraphs, writing grammatically correct
English, spellings, writing answers to the point etc.
• 4. Also refer the list of specific topics published by IESL from time to time on
which few questions will be directly based upon.
WHY DO STUDENTS FAIL IN THE
“B” PAPER ?
2
Code of Ethics:Key elements in the Eng.Russel De Eng Russel De
IESLAct,Code of Conduct andBy Laws. Zilwa Zilwa
9 Quality Assurance: (i) Quality standards: BS, Eng Sunanda Eng Sunanda
ISO, IEC, VDE and other similar internationally Fernando Fernando
recognized standards, how the international
system of standards operate, mandatory vs
optional standards, (ii) Sri Lanka Standards:
Overall policy, standards and procedure to
establish standards, role of SLSI, testing and
enforcement, legal framework.
10 Infrastructure (Energy): Electricity and petroleum sector Eng.SamithaMidigas Eng KKS
history, institutions and their roles, key issues faced by the pe Dassanayake
sector and sector institutions, costs of energy, renewable
energy potential and limitations, prospects for oil and gas in
Sri Lanka, planned development in electricity and petroleum
infrastructure, regulatory institution(s).
Infrastructure (Telecom and IT): Sri Lanka’s fixed and
mobile network, backbone infrastructure, modes of
international communications, new generation of mobile
telephony, costs and pricing of network usage, IT
infrastructure, facilities to remote areas, home ownership of
IT facilities, telecom and IT regulatory institutions.
12 Let us make sense when we talk and write: (i) Speaking: Eng. Shavindra
planning a presentation, content, delivery (ii) Writing: Clear Fernando
and concise writing, how to structure a response to a
question, common mistakes.
Are You Ready!!!