ENGINEERING NO. 14: 2013

NAMIBIA ENGINEERING 2013

COMMUNIQUE of the ENGINEERING COUNCIL of NAMIBIA

E-mail: ecnamibia@iway.na • Tel: 061 233 264 • Fax: 061 400 821 • www. ecnamibia.org

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VICE PRESIDENTSOPHIA BELETE TEKIESophia Tekie is a nominee of the Engineering Professions Association (EPA) and is also the Vice-President of the ECN. Sophia is currently the Manager of the Road Management System at the Roads Authority of Namibia. She has served on the EPA board from 2000 to date and is currently the President of the EPA, a position she also held from 2003 to 2006. Sophia has been a member of the ECN since 2000. She is originally from Ethiopia and is a Namibian citizen. Sophie is the holder of a BSc Eng Honours degree in civil engineering awarded by the Addis Ababa University. She has presented papers in various national, regional and international forums on Namibia’s road management system and road sector reforms through her knowledge and hands on experience in engineering, corporate governance and strategic management.

FULL MEMBERGüNTER LEICHERSince 1994, Günter Leicher, who holds a BTech (Engineering) degree of the University of South Africa, has been involved in civil design and construction work site supervision, labour-based road works, the documentation of proposals and the drafting of plans, as well as detailed surveying on projects throughout Namibia. Although he specialises in transportation and water projects, Günter has also worked on factories, industrial parks, shopping centres, warehouses, hotels, sports facilities and township development. In December 2008 he joined the international Knight Piésold Group as the regional manager of Namibia. He was nominated by EPA to serve on the ECN Council.

PRESIDENTMARKUS VON JENEYMarkus von Jeney has been a member of the Council since the inception of the ECN (1986) and is a registered Incorporated Engineer. He is a nominee of the Namibia Institute of Technology and has had his initial training in civil engineering at the Pretoria Technikon for Higher Technical Education. He has served his second 4-year term as President of the ECN and was unanimously re-elected for a third term. In his career he served 22 years at the Department of Water Affairs where he was developing the water sector in the rural areas of Namibia. Then he was appointed as the Head of Building Research, which opened the path to be appointed as Head of Inspections at the Department of Works. Thereafter he was appointed by the Ministry of Mines and Energy as Deputy Director: Energy, in the downstream petroleum sector, from which post he retired in November 2003. After his retirement from Government service he started his own consultancy in energy, specialising in downstream petroleum, water engineering and building research. Presently he is employed by the Ministry of Defence as Director of Construction and Maintenance on a contract basis.

FULL MEMBERPAULINA KALOPaulina Kalo is a nominee of the Ministry of Works and Transport and was selected from engineers in the full-time Government service in Namibia. Paulina is registered as a Professional Engineer with the ECN. She is currently the Deputy Director of Technical and Maintenance Services at the Ministry of Works and Transport.

FULL MEMBERMBINGEE WATSON HINDJOUMbingee W Hindjou is the president of Association of Consulting Engineers of Namibia (ACEN) and the Managing Director of Conenpro Consulting Engineers. He started his career as civil and structural engineer with Africon Namibia, whereafter he moved to NamWater. Prior to starting his own business, he was employed as Chief Project Manager at the City of Windhoek. Hindjou is the holder of a BSc Civil Engineering degree of the Napier University and a postgraduate diploma in Structural Engineering, Strathclyde University, UK. He is a registered Professional Engineer with the ECN and nominated by ACEN.

Meet the 7th ECN Council withterm of office 28 February 2012until 29 February 2016

Meet yourcouncil

Unit 1, Urban Dynamics Complex, Corner of Nelson Mandela and Hugo Hahn Streets, Klein Windhoek

PO Box 1996, Windhoek ecnamibia@iway.na www.ecnamibia.orgTel No (061) 233264 Fax No (061) 400821

Registrar: Ronell Slabber

Directions to physical address: Unit 1, Urban Dynamics Complex, corner of Nelson Mandela + Hugo Hahn Streets, Klein Windhoek. Drive along Nelson Mandela avenue towards Eros, past Hidas (on your left) until you find a set of traffic lights. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Street (previously Gevers street) turning off to your right and Hugo Hahn street turning off to your left. Please turn left and the name of the complex, Urban Dynamics, is clearly visible. There is ample parking in front of the complex.

Engineering Council of Namibiayour local networking partner in engineering

STATISTICS: NAMIBIA’S ENGINEERING PROFESSION (as at 31 May 2013)

Total number of registered members: 1,236Registered members of the ECN are growing each year, having passed the 1,000-mark in 2010 and growing to pass the 1,200-mark in 2013 with a total of 1,217 registered members.

Registered Members as at 31 May 2013Professional Engineers 415Engineers in Training 229Incorporated Engineers 118Incorporated Engineers in Training 179Engineering Technicians 113Engineering Technicians in Training 182TOTAL MEMBERS 1,236

Number of registrations approved during 2012Professional Engineers 30Engineers in Training 41Incorporated Engineers 6Incorporated Engineers in Training 36Engineering Technicians 4Engineering Technicians in Training 27TOTAL MEMBERS 144

720766 780

853918

959

1,045

1,1761,236

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400NUMBER OF REGISTERED MEMBERS: MAY 2005-MAY 2013

May-05 May-06 May-07 May-08 May-09 May-10 May-11 May-12 May-13

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FULL MEMBERJüRGEN LEICHERJürgen Leicher is one of the two members nominated by the Namibia Institute of Technology (NAMIT). He has been a member of the ECN since 2007 and is currently the Chairman of the Registration Committee for Incorporated Engineers and Engineering Technicians. He holds a BTech degree in civil engineering awarded by the Natal Technikon. He is registered with the ECN as an Incorporated Engineer in the field of structural engineering and is the owner of Absolute Consulting Engineers.

FULL MEMBERPETER FORSTERPeter Forster has been a member of the ECN Council since 2009 and is now serving his second term. He is a nominee of ACEN where he has served as a council member since 2008 and has also been Vice-President and President. He is a Professional Engineer, having obtained an honours degree in civil engineering in 1981 and registered with the ECN in 1988. Following employment from 1983 to 1988 with the Government of Namibia, he has worked in and owned various consulting firms and thus have nearly 25 years experience as a Professional Engineer in private practice. This experience includes numerous projects throughout Namibia involving civil works, water supply, transportation, waste water treatment and management, structures and buildings, as well as extensive involvement in the management and co-ordination of projects. Peter is currently co-owner of Consulting Services Africa.

ALTERNATE MEMBERCHIEDZA CECILA MAXWELLChiedza Maxwell currently serves as the Vice President of ACEN. She is a Director and Founding Member of Denchi Consulting Engineers, a multi-discipline firm of consulting engineers that offers professional services in civil, structural, mechanical and electrical disci-plines. In her career Chiedza spent 19 years as a Chief Engineer and then Associate Director with Wind-hoek Consulting Engineers where she was involved in numerous building and civil projects in Windhoek and around the country. She obtained a BSc (Eng) Hons – Civil from the University of Zimbabwe and is a registered Professional Engineer with the ECN. She was nominated by ACEN on the ECN Council.

ALTERNATE MEMBERENRICO PIERRE VILJOENRico Viljoen is the Executive Officer of ACEN and a Director of EPV Consulting cc and Tactical Sports cc. Rico started his career as a consulting engineer with Seelenbinder Con-sulting Engineers, where after he moved into the contracting and telecommunications fields. Prior to starting his own businesses, he was employed as Engineering Manager at Namibia Breweries and Managing Director at Aurecon Namibia. He obtained a BEng (Electrical) degree and MEng (Management), both from the University of Pretoria and is a registered Professional Engineer with the ECN. He was nominated by ACEN on the ECN Council.

ALTERNATE MEMBERLUTZ BERHARDT STEINBRUCKSince 2001, Lutz Steinbruck is a lecturer in the Department Electrical Engineering at the Polytechnic of Namibia. Lutz is a nominee of the Polytechnic as the alternative member on the ECN. At present he lecturers Communication Elec tro-nics, High Frequency Engineering, Electronic Design and coordi nates Design Projects. He is a techno-logist and his expertise is in the fields of Electronic Design and the application of Radio, Radar and Television Technology. He obtained a National Higher Diploma (Electronics) from Cape Technikon (now CPUT) and Trainer Development Diploma from Maccauvlei, Anglo American.

ALTERNATE MEMBERVOLKER FISCHER-BUDERVolker Fischer-Buder joined the ECN Council in 2012. He is a nominee of the EPA. He is registered as a Professional Engineer, and graduated from the University of Cape Town with a BSc Eng Mechanical degree in 1984. He has more than 25 years experience in the design, super-vision, administration and project management of mechanical and electrical infrastructure and building projects throughout Namibia. He has his own consulting engineering practise, V Fischer-Buder Consulting Engineering, based in Windhoek.

ALTERNATE MEMBERFREDERICK PETER MUKETIFrederick Peter Muketi is the Chief Engineer, Mechanical Services at the Ministry of Works and Transport for the past five years. He has 18 years experience in heavy industry (cement manufacture) in Kenya, the United Kingdom, Germany and the USA. He had his own engineering professional private practice before joining the Ministry of Works and Transport. Frederick is a registered engineer with Engineers Registration Board of Kenya. He was elected chairman of the Green Building Council of Namibia in 2012 and Corporate Member and Hon. Secretary of the EPA. He is a Professional Engineer and alternate member with the ECN nominated by the Ministry of Works and Transport.

ALTERNATE MEMBERDAVID NAMULO ANDREASDavid Namulo Andreas has joined the ENC Council on 28 February 2012 as an Alternate Member and nominee of the Ministry of Works and Transport. He trained in Elec-trical Engineering at Moscow Power Engineering Institute (Technical University) in Moscow, Russia. He has been working at the Ministry of Mines and Energy for the past eight years, appointed as Electrical Engineer responsible for project management and implementation of the ministry’s Grid Rural Electrification Programme. In 2009 he was promoted to the position of Chief Engineer responsible for the Electricity Division.

FULL MEMBERERASTUS N IKELAErastus N Ikela has been a member of the ECN Council since 2007. He is a nominee of the Ministry of Works and Transport. Erastus had his initial training in civil engineering at the Katsina Polytechnic in Nigeria where he obtained a National Diploma in Civil Engineering in 1988. He then obtained a BEng (Honours) in Civil Engineering in 1994 from the University of Nigeria-Nsukka, Nigeria. In addition, he holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Namibia. In his professional career he was employed at the Ministry of Works and Transport and NamWater, as well as having been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Roads Authority responsible for the maintenance and construction of the road infrastructure of Namibia. He served in this capacity from June 2005 to December 2010. He is currently the Managing Director of ENI Consulting Engineers.

FULL MEMBERASS. PROF. ZACCHAEUS OLUSEGUN OYEDOKUNAssociate Professor Zacchaeus Oyedokun is a nominee of the Polytechnic of Namibia and is a staff member of the Electrical Engineering Department of the Polytechnic of Namibia. He was the Dean of the School of Engineering from October 2005 till January 2013. He is a registered engineer with the Council of Regulated Engineering (COREN) of Nigeria, a member of the Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and a member of the Nigeria Society of Engineering. He holds a BEng (Honours) (Electrical) and a MSc (Electronics and Telecoms), both of the Ahmadu Bello University, and a PhD of the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology.

FULL MEMBERAKO AL-JAFAko Al-Jaf, a Professional Engineer (civil), is a nominee of the Engineering Professions Association of Namibia (EPA) and was also the past President of the EPA. Ako has more than 27 years of professional experience in infrastructure planning construction and maintenance in the roads, water and sewerage sector. He is also an active member of the Management Committee of the Road Sector Reform Programme in Namibia. He has played a leading role in the successful implementation of the Roads Contractor Company and has been responsible for the planning and implementation of several training courses for the management and technical staff in co-operation with European donor agencies.

CO-OPTED MEMBERPROF. FRANK PL KAVISHEProf. Frank Kavishe is the Founding Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Namibia and a co-opted member of the ECN Council nominated by UNAM. Prof. Kavishe holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering (Honours) from the University of Dar es Salaam and MSc (Materials Technology) and PhD (Metallurgy) from the University of London’s Imperial College of Science and Technology. He worked as a Materials Engineer with the Ford Motor Company in England where he was also registered as a Chartered Engineer. His research interests have spanned many areas that include fracture mechanics, brazing technology, heat treatment and grain refinement of steels, foundry technology and production of sponge iron, natural fibre composites, natural pozzolanic materials, corrosion prevention and nanotechnology.

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The previous fee scale adjustment to an hourly tariff of N$890.00 for Professional Engineers and Incorporated Engineers Consulting Engineers was done in December 2009. No tariff adjustments have been approved since then and hence a huge backlog has arisen for the engineering profession. Unfortunately, the adjustment of the hourly tariff is a cumbersome process, as determined by the Engineering Profession Act, and therefore the engineers have been “disadvantaged” when compared to other professions. An urgent hourly tariff adjustment was requested by the ECN to match rising costs and the Minister of Works and Transport has approved an adjustment to N$1,185.00.

LEGAL PROCESS FOR THE ADJUSTMENTThe Engineering Profession Act, 1986 (Act No. 19 of 1986) stipulates that a Notice of Intended Amendment of Tariff of Consulting Fees must be published in the Government Gazette. After the expiry of a period of four weeks from the date of the publication of the

notice and on condition that no written objections were received within a period of two weeks from the date of publication of the Notice, may the Notice of Amendment of Tariff of Consulting Fees be published.

The Notice of Intended Amendment was published in Government Gazette 5183 dated 30 April 2013. On 30 May 2013 no objections were received.

By publication date of this ECN Review, the Notice of Amendment was being drafted. We trust that by the time that you read this article the hourly tariff of N$1,185.00 would have become effective.

Please contact the Association of Consulting Engineers or the Registrar to establish the current status of the hourly tariff.

Hourly tariff — N$1,185.00

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Updating ECN members

Due date for submissions for “full” registrationPlease note that if you wish for your application to be processed during a specific year, your completed application to the ECN as well as your referee reports, must be submitted not later than September of that specific year.

Identification of engineering work A draft working document titled “Identification of Engineering Work for Persons Registered in terms of the Engineering Profession Act, 1986 (Act No. 18 of 1986)” can be downloaded from the ECN website: wwww.ecnamibia@iway.org. This document, in broad terms, outlines the work generally termed as “Engineering work” to be able to define such work on which the Engineering Profession Act, 1986 has reference.

FIDIC documentsThe International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) documents are not kept by the Engineering Council of Namibia nor by the Association of Consulting Engineers, as there is no financial benefit to their members. Therefore these documents should be obtained directly from the FIDIC website: www.fidic. org.

Who may sign off designs?

Only Professional Engineers and Incorporated Engineers who are registered with the Engineering Council of Namibia under the Engineering Profession Act, 1986 (Act No. 18 of 1986), may offer professional services directly to the public. Only they are legally registered with the ECN and thus have the authority to sign engineering documents (reports, drawings, designs and calculations) for a study, estimate, design or analysis, thus taking legal responsibility for it.

The Engineering Profession Act (Act 18 of 1986) is clear that the Act and the Regulations or Rules published thereunder, which includes a Code of Conduct, is only enforceable on registered persons.

Adjudication and Arbitration

In modern construction contracts, Adjudication is the first step in alternative dispute resolution. The great majority of disputes are resolved during this process. Adjudicators are nominated by the National Adjudication List (NAL), administrated by the Engineering Professions Association, as it fulfils the role of an independent nomination authority. The NAL also develops capacity for adjudication in Namibia. The Engineering Professions Association of Namibia is contactable at Tel. or Fax (061) 223009 or on email: epa@africaonline.com.na.

It is, therefore, recommended that in cases of a dispute on construction contracts, the EPA’s NAL be approached, as they will ensure that adequate standards of skill, experience and qualifications of registered adjudicators are maintained. Only in cases which cannot be resolved under adjudication, the final step would be arbitration. Arbitration is currently not administered by the EPA, but by the ECN.

Use of ECN logoRegistered members are not entitled to use the ECN logo on their personal and/or business letterheads, e-mails, business cards, etc to indicate that they are registered members of the ECN. The Engineering Profession Act, however, entitles an individual to indicate his or her profession or make it known by using for all purposes the title Prof. Eng. (Professional Engineer), Inc. Eng. (Incorporated Engineer) and Eng. Tech. (Engineering Technician) after his or her name. A person who is registered as an Engineer in training, Incorporated Engineer in Training or Engineering Technician in training may describe himself as an Engineer in Training, Incorporated Engineer in Training or Engineering Technician in Training, as the case may be.

Abbreviation of ECNThe Engineering Council of Namibia uses the abbreviation “ECN” while the Electoral Commission of Namibia is also using the same abbreviation. The question thus arises: who may and who may not use ECN as an abbreviation. By law, no right of exclusive use is attached to the abbreviation ECN in favour of a particular person, institution or other entity. The abbreviation may therefore be used freely as a reference to the Engineering Council of Namibia, as long as it is clear from the context in which it is used that it is intended as such a reference.

ALTERNATE MEMBERJURGEN HENNESJurgen Hennes is a nominee of the Institution of Technology (NAMIT) and is also the President of this institution. He has been a member of the ECN since 1986. Jurgen is registered as an Incorporated Engineer (Civil) and he started his career with the former Department of Water Affairs, whereafter he joined the City of Windhoek gaining experience in road design and construction, as well as maintenance and water/sewer construction. In 1996 he opted to private practice and practiced as a loss consultant. In 2008 he joined Weder, Meyer and Louw as Project Manager.

ALTERNATE MEMBERFRITZ JACOBSFritz Jacobs is one of the three alternate members nominated by the EPA. Fritz is the holder of a BSc Eng degree in Electrical Engineering awarded by Cape Town University. He is registered as a Professional Engineer with the ECN. He is currently the chief executive officer of Jacobs Engineering Consulting.

ALTERNATE MEMBERMARTIN SHIKONGOMartin Shikongo is a nominee of the Ministry of Works and Transport and was selected from engineers in the full-time Government service in Namibia. He has been a member of the ECN since 2006 and was the past Vice-President of the ECN. Martin is registered as a Professional Engineer and is the Deputy Director at the Ministry of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development.

ALTERNATE MEMBERFRITZ U JESKEFritz Jeske is an alternate member of the Namibia Institute of Technology (NAMIT). He has been a member of the ECN since 1986. Fritz is the holder of a BSc Eng degree in Electrical Engineering which he obtained at the former University of the Witwatersrand. He is a nominee of the ECN on the Namibia Electricity Board and is a director of Bicon Namibia Consulting Engineers.

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Concerns: Private practicesThe Engineering Council of Namibia (ECN) and The Association of Consulting Engineers (ACEN) have recently become increasingly concerned regarding certain misunderstandings that have become prevalent within the private sector, both with consultants and with the clients that appoint them. As the bodies responsible for these matters under the Engineering Profession Act (Act 18 of 1986), the ECN and ACEN would like to bring the following matters urgently to the attention of consultants and clients that appoint them:

• In order to conduct engineering work, a person must be fully registered with the ECN as either an Incorporated Engineer or as a Professional Engineer. To clarify any confusion, this means that the person must be fully registered (ie have a suitable degree; have suitable supervised “in training” experience; have submitted an application to the ECN and have been accepted). Persons registered as “in training” are not fully registered and may not perform engineering work independently. If there is any question in this regard, the Registrar of the ECN may be contacted to confirm the registration status of an individual. This should not be taken lightly. Doing engineering work

Engineering work may only be performed once fully registered

when not registered or knowingly paying an unregistered person to do work is dangerous, irresponsible and illegal and could lead to prosecution.

• The whole purpose of the registration process is to allow the Government of Namibia to be able to assure all residents of Namibia that engineering works are being conducted only by persons qualified and competent. The international news regularly reports on the loss of life caused by failed buildings and badly designed structures caused by unregistered persons performing work illegally. The Government, through the ECN, is committed to preventing this happening in Namibia.

• Unregistered persons also cannot get professional insurance (otherwise known as Indemnity). This means that if there is any problem with their work, they will be responsible personally. Due to the large sums of money involved in these cases, this would most probably mean bankruptcy. In addition, if the person appointing them knew that they were not properly registered, they may also be sued in their personal capacity.

• Unregistered persons cannot take responsibility for the work they have done, since they are breaking the law by doing it at all. This means that they can’t sign certificates for banks, municipalities or owners when work has to be handed over, which may well mean that the client ends up losing all their money, since the funding agency will not commit the funds or the property would not be transferred.

• Even registered, persons can only legally conduct work within the field that they are registered. For instance, someone who graduated with a qualification in civil engineering and who has trained in this field, even though registered with the ECN, cannot do other than civil work, such as designing electrical works.

• Unregistered persons are joining companies who do not have persons fully registered in the field in which they work. This means that their training is not supervised and will not count towards their registration, which can set them back many years in additional training at lower salary. A supervisor must be fully registered in the same field as the trainee: thus, a mechanical engineer cannot train a civil engineer. If in doubt, please contact the Registrar for advice.

In general, the ECN would like to bring this advice to the attention of all those involved in engineering projects:

To Clients:• Please only appoint persons who are fully registered or

companies owned and managed by persons that are fully registered to do engineering work.

• Only appoint persons who are registered to do the type of work required and only appoint companies owned by persons registered to do the type of work. For example, do not appoint a mechanical engineer to do structural work or a civil engineer to do electrical work.

To engineers who are “in training” and not yet fully registered:• Please complete your experiential training and register

fully with the ECN before conducting consulting works. Review the “registration process” page on the ECN website at www.ecnamibia.org. This page gives the full procedure required for training and registration. Alternatively, you can contact the Registrar. Please also only join companies who have staff who are fully registered in your field and who can train you towards your own registration.

To engineers who are already registered:• Please remember that you have a legal duty of care to

provide the correct service to your client and may be found liable of you do not deliver the required professional service. Obtain and maintain indemnity insurance.

• Remember that you are responsible to train staff who are in training towards their future registration in full. Do not employ persons in training in fields in which you do not have fully registered staff, since you cannot train them and cannot take responsibility for their work.

• Only conduct work within the discipline where you have graduated and have experience and be certain at all times that you are fully experienced and capable to do each particular job that you take on.

• Do not take on work for which you do not have a fully registered person in your management cadre.

SAFEO is a non-governmental organisation which represents the interests of engineering practitioners in Southern Africa. Eleven countries, including Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zim-babwe and Madagascar attended a meeting in February 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa, to discuss issues pertaining to a new SAFEO Protocol and Agreement of Co-operation. This agreement will be signed by the Engineers Professions Association of Namibia (EPA), representing the Namibian engineering profession on this forum, as decided by the ECN Council.

SAFEO meetingThe Southern African Federation of Engineering Organisations (SAFEO) Meeting

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STARTING YOUROWN CONSULTANCYPRACTICE

It has come to the attention of the Engineering Council of Namibia (ECN) and the Association of Consulting Engineers (ACEN) that young and relatively inexperienced engineers are starting their own consultancy practices. The ECN and ACEN encourage entrepreneurial initiatives, but would like to point out the following potential issues to assist in making a success of their endeavours.

• The principals (directors, partners, shareholders, etc must be registered in full as Professional Engineers or Incorporated Engineers, and not as trainees.

• A registered Incorporated Engineer or Professional Engineer with an academic qualification in electrical engineering, for instance, may not conduct civil works. A registered person may only undertake engineering work of a nature that his/ her education, training and experience have rendered him/ her competent to perform, as stipulated by the Engineering Profession Act (Act 18 of 1986).

• Furthermore, a consultancy may not offer services in engineering disciplines or sub-disciplines, if a qualified and fully registered engineer, in that discipline or sub-discipline, is not employed or retained full-time or contracted by that consultancy.

• If engineers are not registered or only registered as trainees, they should not pretend to be or by any means whatsoever hold themselves out or allow themselves to be held out as a Professional Engineer or an Incorporated Engineer. Nor should they use the name of Professional Engineer or Incorporated Engineer or any name, title, description or symbol or performs any act indicating or calculated to lead persons to infer that they are registered in terms of the Engineering Profession Act (Act 18 of 1986).

• All registered persons must adhere to the Code of Conduct as stipulated in the Engineering Profession Act (Act 18 of 1986).

• In the event that a project is too complex or too big to handle effectively, a well established consulting engineering firm

ENSURE THAT YOU ARE REGISTERED IN “FULL” BEFORE STARTING YOUR OWN CONSULTANCY PRACTICE

should be approached to assist and provide the necessary guidance and support.

• Young engineers should not hesitate to contact fellow engineers who are fully registered for assistance or for their advice on what steps to take with regard to engineering work.

• All engineers and technicians, registered in full or as trainees, should familiarise themselves with the Identification of Engineering Work, as well as the work reserved for other professionals such as Architects and Quantity Surveyors.

• All practices must have Professional Indemnity Insurance to protect their clients in the event of any kind of failure in their designs or during supervision. Failures can be extremely expensive and can bankrupt the company and the principals.

• All Professional and Incorporated Engineers who are in training must be supervised and mentored, otherwise they will not be able to register “in full”. If the principals are themselves not registered, they cannot supervise and mentor their own staff, nor provide a working environment to trainees to gain the relevant experiential training.

It is clear that, despite the perceived advantages of being self employed, entrepreneurially minded individuals should work within established companies until they are registered in full and have gained suitable post graduate experience. Once this has been achieved, then starting an own company or practice will be possible.

A LOCALENGINEERINGTRAGEDYOn 2 December 2012, an internal concrete beam and adjacent internal brick walls, near the entrance to the Pick & Pay Shopping Centre in Ondangwa, collapsed, killing two people.

A local esteemed engineering firm did an interim investigation on 6 December 2012 to ascertain whether the building is safe to access. It was found that the entire building is no longer structurally safe for further occupation. It is emphasised that the building is not even safe for brief access. Access for clearing may only commence after the building’s stability has been adequately secured to a structural engineer’s approval.

From the visual inspections on site, it is evident that the building has not been built in accordance with the National Building Regulations. It has not yet been established whether the consulting team or the contractor is at fault. An investigation is still on-going.

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APPEAL TO EMPLOYERS OF ENGINEERS AND TECHNICIANSThe Engineering Council of Namibia is entrusted with the statutory responsibility of ensuring that public interest, safety and health in the rendering of services by members of the engineering profession are promoted and safeguarded.

The Council can only effectively fulfil its mandate if all persons performing services as Professional Engineers, Incorporated Engineers or Engineering Technicians, both in the private sector and the public sector, are registered with the ECN — as in fact, they are legally obliged to do.

The Council aims to pursue all viable options in its strive towards attaining the registration of all those individuals who qualify for registration in any of the engineering profession categories. Although only individuals may be registered with the ECN, the Council wishes to approach and make an appeal to employers of those individuals to assist the Council in a combined effort to achieve this objective.

In principle, to meet the requirements of the Engineering Profession Act, 1986 (Act 18 of 1968), all employers should ensure that their employees (Professional Engineers, Incorporated Engineers and Engineering Technicians and their counterparts “in training”) are registered with the Council and that their registration be maintained. The ECN is of the opinion that if the employer makes registration a requirement for appointment for all its engineering positions, it would be the first step.

Secondly, the ECN believes that should employers be able to offer incentives to employees who are registered with the Council, it would encourage others to apply for registration. Incentives of such nature will be valuable contributions toward achieving the intended objective and ultimately benefit the engineering profession and the country as a whole. Other incentives could also be considered, such as paying registration

fees of applicants, paying the annual fees of registered members, increasing the remuneration packages of registered employees, or, in job promotions, giving preference to persons who are already registered with the ECN.

An employer is prohibited from allowing an employee who is not registered as a Professional Engineer or Incorporated Engineer, to perform any work falling within the scope of practice of any of the engineering professions mentioned in Part A and B of Schedule II of the Engineering Profession Act, 1986. Any contravention of the prohibition may expose an employer to criminal prosecution. Employers should also ensure that registered persons “in training” and other persons assisting in the performance of work of an engineering nature, perform their work strictly under the direct supervision of appropriate registered persons.

It should, however, be emphasised that only persons with appropriate qualifications and engineering experience of sufficient variety and standard will qualify for registration. Every employer should offer a commitment and undertaking to provide its employees with the training and guidance necessary to develop the required level of competence. Training programmes must be drawn up and existing ones should be reviewed, as employers have a moral obligation to do so.

Council also wishes to inform all employers that it is intended to make provision in the proposed new Engineering Profession legislation (presently still being prepared in Bill form) for the implementation of CPD (Continuous Professional Development) requirements, which will also place an obligation on employers.

The ECN trusts that each employer will agree to join the Council in a combined effort to ensure that its employees in any of the relevant engineering profession categories are registered with the ECN and that they maintain their registration.

EXPERIENTIAL TRAINING ANDREGISTRATION IN “FULL”

The Engineering Council of Namibia wishes to bring to the attention of applicants who want to apply for “full” registration, that not all applicants are successful at their first attempt for full registration.

The following factors may be contributing to the unsuccessful applications:

• Applicants do not study the documents made available, under the auspices of the Engineering Profession Act, 1986, to make a proper assessment of what their experiential training has to fulfil.

• The day-to-day tasks of applicants being more of an administrative (although engineering related) nature, with no real inputs from the employer to allow engineering projects to be conducted.

• The lack of the implementation of structured training programmes by the employer.

• It is recommended that Applicants have mentors to assist them in obtaining the relevant engineering experience at their workplace, and who can guide them in their professional development. The reports submitted by the applicants should be critically appraised by the mentors.

• The core elements of an engineer’s experiential training are problem solving, design and synthesis and planning.

DOES YOUR EXPERIENTIAL TRAINING MEET THEREQUIREMENTS FOR REGISTRATION IN “FULL”?

• Some consulting engineers who agree to the attachment of a trainee sometimes only expose the attached trainees to the full design process and ultimately do not provide them with the required “hands-on” design experience.• Applicants who cannot obtain the relevant experiential engineering training at their workplace are often attached, but unfortunately do not make the maximum use of their attachment to consulting engineers (or other organisations).• Applicants who are attached (eg only three days per week) should realise that it would ultimately result in their practical or experiential training period to exceed the minimum training period of three years.• Some applicants apply for full registration, knowing very well that they

do not meet the requirements, but conveniently put the blame on the registration process.

• Applicants should be aware that to achieve full registration, the onus is on him/her to ensure that the training received, meets the ECN requirements. However, in the event that the employer cannot provide the relevant experience, it would necessitate that much more extra time and effort be put into the training period by the applicant.

• The level of commitment on the part of trainees and their employers towards achieving the desired levels of competence, will determine the rate of their progress towards professional registration.

• Applicants should work hard to ensure that their employer will give them progressively greater responsibilities until they are demonstrably capable of accepting professional responsibility in making and executing engineering decisions.

• Applicants should refrain from being spoon-fed, but should make a personal effort to achieve professional development and competence and should not solely rely on the employer.

• Although employers have an obligation to provide the relevant experiential training to their employees, it cannot be enforced, and could it mean that an applicant must find an employer who will look after his/her needs for registration.

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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NQA AND ECN EVALUATIONS

The Engineering Council of Namibia (ECN) and the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) are two statutory bodies having a relationship with regards to the evaluation of qualifications. The ECN wishes to inform applicants, employers and the Namibian public that there is a difference between the evaluations done by the NQA and the ECN.

The one very important criteria which is applied by the NQA when evaluating a qualification, is that the awarding institution has a credible and verifiable status conferred by a recognised quality assurance body in the country of origin. NQA evaluations are normally at a generic level and only determines a comparable value of a qualification. The NQA does not indicate that the curriculum studied covered all the knowledge areas of an engineering programme, or that the curriculum and the academic record correspond. NQA evaluation decisions are not binding on competent recognition authorities who apply their own criteria and process for determining access or entry into professions.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ASSESSMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS BY THE NAMIBIA QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY AND THE ENGINEERING COUNCIL OF NAMIBIA?

Therefore, evaluation decisions by the NQA are not binding on the ECN. Furthermore, the NQA does not have the capacity to determine whether a qualification is an engineering qualification, or the level of the qualification for the purpose of registration with the ECN.

The Engineering Profession Act (Act 18 of 1986) provides for only the ECN to determine whether a qualification is an engineering qualification, as well as to determine the category of registration. Where a qualification is “unknown”, an in-depth assessment is done to determine the above. When an applicant submits an application for registration, the Registrar will inform the applicant whether the qualification needs to be assessed in depth. This process requires that an applicant has to submit additional documentation other than the application form and degree certificate. This process is explained in detail on the ECN website, www.ecnamibia.org. (See Registration Process - Qualifications in Engineering not known to the ECN).

ACCREDITATION OFQUALIFICATIONSThe recognition of a qualification is not equivalent to the accreditation of a qualification.

Accreditation of a qualification is based on:1. Consideration of the degree structure and contents. 2. An in-depth (on-site) assessment of the programme.3. Assessment of students in the programme.4. Assessment of graduates from the programme.5. Assessment of the quality of the examination papers and

answer scripts.6. Accreditation bodies must be convinced that the academic

environment, the staff and resources are available and utilised.

7. Programme must be of a suitable standard to ensure graduates are competent to enter the profession.

The ECN unfortunately does not have the capacity to establish its own accreditation system and body and has, therefore, appointed the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), as a member of the International Engineering Alliance and the only country in Africa that is a cosignatory of the Washington, Sydney and Dublin Accords, to act on its behalf. ECSA applies peer group assessments in terms of international engineering accreditation principles.

On the other hand, recognition of a qualification takes only Point 1 and Point 7 into consideration.

INTERNATIONALLY ACCREDITED QUALIFICATIONSThree agreements covering tertiary qualifications in engineering in 15 countries:• Washington Accord: pertaining to Professional Engineers• Sydney Accord: pertaining to Incorporated Engineers/Technologists• Dublin Accord: pertaining to Engineering Technicians

The International Engineering Alliance’s website reflects tertiary institutions and accredited engineering programmes in countries that are cosignatories of the Washington, Sydney and Dublin Accords. Visit the website and establish whether your qualification is accredited under one of the three above-mentioned accords. These Accords are recognised by the ECN, as well as internationally.

It is Namibia’s ultimate goal to achieve signatory status. To achieve this, local engineering qualifications must be accredited by these Accords. The process has started in 2010 and is on-going, but could take several years.

Signatories that have full rights of participation in the Washington Accord; qualifications accredited or recognised by other signatories are recognised by each signatory as being substantially equivalent to accredited or recognised qualifications within its own jurisdiction:• Australia - Represented by Engineers Australia (1989);• Canada - Represented by Engineers Canada (1989);• Chinese Taipei - Represented by Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (2007);• Hong Kong China - Represented by The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (1995);• Ireland - Represented by Engineers Ireland (1989);• Japan - Represented by Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (2005);• Korea - Represented by Accreditation Board for Engineering Education of Korea (2007);• Malaysia - Represented by Board of Engineers Malaysia (2009);• New Zealand - Represented by Institution of Professional Engineers NZ (1989);• Russia - Represented by Association for Engineering Education of Russia (2012);• Singapore - Represented by Institution of Engineers Singapore (2006);• South Africa - Represented by Engineering Council of South Africa (1999);• Turkey - Represented by MUDEK (2011);• United Kingdom - Represented by Engineering Council UK (1989); and• United States - Represented by Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (1989).

PROVISIONAL STATUS: Qualifications accredited or recognised by organisations holding provisional status are not recognised by the signatories. Organisations holding provisional status that are not yet recognised, are as follows:• Bangladesh - Represented by Board of Accreditation for Engineering and Technical Education;• Germany - Represented by German Accreditation Agency for Study Programs in Engineering and Informatics;• India - Represented by National Board of Accreditation of All India Council for Technical Education;• Pakistan - Represented by Pakistan Engineering Council; and• Sri Lanka - Represented by Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka.

www.washingtonaccord.org

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ECSA AND ECN REGISTRATIONS

The answer: No. The fact that a person is registered with ECSA does not automatically means that an ECN registration will be issued. There is not a reciprocal agreement for mutual registration between the two countries (or for that matter, with any other country).

Although the registration process in both countries is similiar, ECN as a statutory body is obliged to the Namibian public to assess a person’s qualification, competence and or experience.

It must, therefore, be made clear to all persons who want to register with the ECN, whether local or foreign, seconded by Government or any other Namibian institution, that they must adhere to the standard registration process applicable to everyone. No exceptions can be made.

ECN’s registered persons will have to go through ECSA’s standard registration process.

THE QUESTION IS OFTEN ASKED: DOES THE ENGINEERING COUNCIL OF NAMIBIA RECOGNISE REGISTRATIONS OF THE ENGINEERING COUNCIL OF SOUTH ARICA (ECSA) AND VICE VERSA?

KNOWLEDGE AREA — ENGINEERINGDESIGN AND SYNTHESISOne of the major knowledge areas of an engineering degree is Design and Synthesis. All engineering degrees need to have Design and Synthesis in the curriculum. This is normally assessed in design courses and the Final Year Project.

Design is introduced into an engineering programme via two approaches:• Explicitly with specific design subjects; and• Implicitly by including design in the course content, eg by

including design in, for example, Electronic Circuits.

If an in-depth assessment of an engineering qualification should reflect that the qualification has 0 (Zero) or an unacceptable number of NQA credits in Engineering Design and Synthesis, the applicant will have to take remedial action by successful completing course(s) to obtain the required minimum credits. This component is very important and is a major distinction between a science and an engineering degree.

The ECN Standards require that all engineering programmes need to cover the following six specified knowledge areas:• Mathematics;• Basic Sciences; • Engineering Sciences and Principles;• Engineering Design and Synthesis;• Computing and Information Technology; and• Complementary Studies.

If the engineering qualification has covered all the other knowledge areas, but not Design and Synthesis, the applicant should not see this as an obstacle which cannot be overcome. However, remedial action has to be taken.

Mr Eino T Nanjemba graduated in Electrical engineering, Electro-mechanics, and Electro-technology from Kazan State Power Engineering University, Russia. In his final year he took part in an international case challenge, “Go green in the city”, for best solutions on energy management in the city. It consisted of three stages, and the overall winners with good solution on energy management in the city where invited to Paris to present their solutions in June 2012. With the help of his Master’s thesis research, Eino came up with an intelligent solution of utilising solar energy. This solution made it through all the stages and he stood the chance for the finals in Paris, France.

Go Green in the City is an international case challenge for university business and engineering students around the world to find clever solutions for energy management. Until recently, energy was a trivial thing: not too expensive, without limits, and with no major technology evolution. Today, however, energy has become scarce, expensive and is undergoing a technology revolution. The energy sector is now reinventing itself. “There will be more investments in the sector in the next 25 years than there has been since the birth of electricity at the beginning of the 20th century. But the type of electricity we will have, will not be the same as the one we have had in the past century. We will have to balance the need for increased requirements for electrical power, with social progress and environmental protection,” says Eino.

Solar Cogeneration Home System (SCHS)In today’s world of power demands and the continuously rise of electrical energy costs, one of the best alternative solution will be the utilisation of solar energy. Solar energy is free and most abundant energy source on the planet and it is the best solution with regard to economic, environmental and safety consideration. SCHS is a self-independent system which uses solar energy as the source of electrical and heat energy for a residential place in the city. It consists of Solar Cogeneration Panels, smart multi-controller, Monitoring Network and batteries. SCHS is suitable for sub-tropical countries, mainly in Africa and southern Asia. The system is designed with high consideration to meet the basic and necessary needs of single families, small apartment’s owners, medium- and low-incomes people residing in metropolises areas and simple for those who want to have a safe, reliable, available and grid-independent source of energy.

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Above: Mr. Yi Zhang (right), welcomes Mr. Eino Nanjemba (left) for the finals at Schneider Electric head quarters, Paris - France.

YOUNG NAMIBIAN ENGINEER GO GREEN

RECIPIENTS OFECN MERITAWARDSECN MERIT AWARDS FOR THE 2011 DIPLOMA AND B-TECH GRADUATES STUDYING ENGINEERING AT THE POLYTECHNIC OF NAMIBIA:

Nafimane Meitavelo HANDJABA: 71%: Best Civil Engineering Diploma Student

Stephanus Jacobus DU TOIT: 82%: ECN Dux award for the most outstanding Bachelor of Technology student, as well as best Bachelor or of Technology Student in Civil Engineering (Urban)

Etienne Sebastiaan HANSTEIN: 76%Best Bachelor of Technology Student in Electronic Engineering, as well asTelecom Award for the Best Electronic Engineering B Tech student

Jacobs Jakobo SIHELA: 73%: Best Bachelor of Technology Student in Power Engineering

Top left: President of the ECN, Markus von Jeney, and Jacobs Sihela. Right, from top to bottom: Etienne Hanstein; Stephanus du Toit and Nafimane Handjaba.

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WHAT IS INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING?Written by Mr Riaan Brand and Prof. Roy Snaddon

Q: What is Industrial Engineering?Industrial Engineering can be described as the collective optimised utilisation of resources (financial resources, human resources, physical resources, materials, technologies, information and time) to achieve the best sustainable solution to the benefit of our environment, people and/or businesses.

Industrial Engineering is a recognised accredited engineering discipline that fills the gap between very technical design projects on the one side, and business (including financial projects) on the other side. Industrial Engineering focuses on process improvement, which relate to improvements in efficiency and effectiveness of any part of a business, in any industry. Competitive businesses are businesses with the most effective and efficient internal business processes.

Q: What is the difference between Industrial Engineering and the other Engineering Disciplines in terms of technical skills and/or entrepreneurial skills?All engineering disciplines have certain tools, techniques, formulas, schedules and methods that are applied to projects.

In this edition of the Engineering Review, readers are provided with more information on INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING and COMPUTER ENGINEERING, since these two engineering disciplines are unfamiliar to many.

Technical skills required to calculate, design, develop and execute projects are applicable to any engineering discipline. Although it is generally understood what role a mechanical, structural, civil or electrical type of engineer will fulfil on a project, none of these disciplines addresses how the project will impact the operations or business in general. Typical questions will be: “Is the new facility large enough?”, or, “Is it too big?”, or, “Is it the best investment for the need of the company?”, or, “What will the Return on Investment (ROI) be?”, or, “Is there another option to increase revenue rather than to invest in a physical facility?” These important questions determine the competitiveness of any business. There may be enough money to pay for the new project, but it may not be the best investment of resources and time, and a competitor may gain an advantage over the business.

Industrial Engineers have specialised technical skills and methods that address these operational issues to make informed business decisions. Industrial Engineers should form part of any project team to ensure that capital investments (of physical projects designed by other engineering disciplines) improves the company’s effectiveness and efficiency, and overall competitiveness and profitability.

Entrepreneurial skills (in our opinion) are more related to the character of a person, than to the background or field of study. However, one field of study may be more useful or applicable to an entrepreneurial character than another field of study.

In order to answer the second part of the question above: While the study of Industrial Engineering will not necessarily produce an entrepreneur, the field and content of study of Industrial Engineering is aligned to an entrepreneurial mindset, as it focuses on business improvement, so Industrial Engineers are more likely to be entrepreneurs than many other engineering disciplines.

Q: Does Namibia need more Industrial Engineers?The application for the field of Industrial Engineering is extremely wide and the skills of Industrial Engineers are applicable in any industry. Especially in the current global economic times, every person, business, and industry need to be as efficient, effective and productive as possible. If not, that person or business is not competitive and will not be sustainable in the long run. Thus, every business, industry or country definitely needs the skills and expertise of Industrial Engineers, which includes Namibia.

Q: Where could Industrial Engineers find jobs in Namibia?Below is a list of typical fields of Industrial Engineering application:

A list of typical industries where Industrial Engineering skills are applied:

These lists are not comprehensive, but may assist Industrial Engineers to find an industry or field of interest to apply for a

job. A big challenge in Namibia is employers who do not yet know the value that an Industrial Engineer can add to a division, a project team or a company.

Q: Industrial Engineering programmes are structured in such a way that it also contains subjects in eg Mechanical or Electrical Engineering. If a graduate, for example, did mechanical subjects as part of the Industrial Engineering programme, may this person perform mechanical engineering work?It is a difficult question to answer, as it will depend on the level of detail of the mechanical or electrical work involved in that part of the project assigned to the Industrial Engineer. The general rule of thumb is: “each one to his own”. Therefore, Industrial engineers should not claim that they can design all types of systems. Detail design is better done by those who have specialised knowledge and experience in that field.

Industrial Engineers can evaluate the systems and designs for efficiency and propose improvements where necessary. Industrial Engineers have to have a relatively good grasp on many things that occur in their working environment. Thus, Industrial Engineers will understand most designs, but may not be the final responsible person for a design that is not clearly within their field of expertise. An Industrial Engineer should never sign off work that falls outside their field of expertise.

Q: Related to the new Master’s programme in Industrial Engineering offered at the Polytechnic of Namibia:• Q-1: Why would a BEng graduate (Civil/Mechanical/

Electrical/Mining, etc) do this Master’s programme?It will depend on the personal vision and fields of interest of the candidate. The Master’s course in Industrial Engineering provides graduates with Industrial Engineering skills and business understanding at an accelerated pace to move into more entrepreneurial and managerial roles. It also provides a sufficient base that the academically minded engineer could undertake a PhD.

• Q-2: If a BTech graduate would attend and successfully complete this Master’s programme, would his/her category of registration (Incorporated Engineer) change to that of a Professional Engineer?

The category of registration will not change. A Master’s Degree is not a registerable qualification. Successful completion of a Master’s degree does not guarantee a detailed understanding of engineering principles as a BEng or BTech does. The category of registration is still determined by the BEng or BTech degree, not the Master’s degree. This Master degree, in common with other Master degrees in Engineering, is not designed to meet the key knowledge areas or exit level outcomes set for registration.

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Manufacturing, Production and Distribution

Quality Measurement and Improvement

Project Management Program ManagementSupply Chain Management Ergonomics/Human FactorsFinancial Planning Management of ChangeProductivity, Methods and Process Engineering

Technology Development and Transfer

Strategic Planning

Aerospace & Avionics MilitaryMineral Processing ConstructionBanking, Insurance & Financial Services

Consulting

Medical Services MiningAssembly lines Oil & GasEnergy RetailShipping & Rail EntertainmentTransport & Fleet logistics Forestry

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• Q-3: Why would a BEng graduate (Industrial) do this Master’s programme?

To further improve and specialise in specific fields of interest in Industrial Engineering. The Master’s programme provides the opportunity to further develop specific skills not necessarily addressed during the undergraduate course. It also allows the candidate to specialise or focus his/her area of interest more closely on a specific subject, ie logistics or operational management. It also gives more credibility to interpret findings, make decisions and take appropriate action. A BEng graduate (Industrial) is unlikely to take the complete programme offered by the Polytechnic of Namibia as it currently concentrates on converting graduates from other engineering disciplines to Industrial Engineering. BEng graduates (Industrial) however, might pick out specific courses and register for a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering by research. Such selected courses would be to strengthen and update their knowledge and to provide them with a basis for research at this level.

• Q-4: Why is there no BEng (Industrial) degree at the Polytechnic of Namibia?

A BEng degree requires substantial skilled Industrial Engineers to lecture subjects to satisfy the rigorous key knowledge areas and exit level outcomes of the ECN. Such a degree, when resources are available, should follow in future.

ConclusionIndustrial Engineering is an exciting, yet challenging, discipline in Engineering, always developing and changing and improving

as new technologies, products, services and facilities become available. Industrial Engineering is just as important as any of the other engineering disciplines, as each decision that is made, has implications on the competitiveness of the company. Industrial Engineering augments other disciplines in the long term strategy and focus of a company. It is the Industrial Engineer’s job to keep each project aligned with the business’ vision, mission and strategy whether as an employee or entrepreneur.

WHAT IS COMPUTER ENGINEERING?Written by Dr Clement N. Nyirenda, Dr Clement N. Temaneh, and Prof. Frank PL Kavishe from the Faculty of Engineering andInformation Technology, University of Namibia, Ongwediva

BackgroundThe Computer Engineering discipline incorporates the science and technology of design, construction, implementation, and maintenance of modern computing systems and computer based control systems [1].

Computer Engineering integrates several fields of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering to design computing hardware, software, networks and processes. Despite having its roots in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering has evolved as a separate discipline over the past few decades. It is more than a blend of the two other fields. The major technical areas of Computer Engineering include:

computer hardware, computer software, embedded systems, intelligent systems, networking, design automation, image and speech processing, and biomedical engineering.

Case Western Reserve University, which established the first Computer Engineering in 1972, is generally believed to be the first institution to do so. As of October 2004, there were 170 Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology - USA (ABET) accredited computer engineering programs in the US [1]. Currently, many universities, even in Africa, are offering undergraduate programs in Computer Engineering.

On the other hand, there has also been an influx of computer software and hardware courses all over the world. Most of these courses do not put special emphasis on the understanding of Computer Engineering from fundamental scientific principles and are not accredited by Engineering bodies.

Graduates from accredited Computer Engineering programmes are expected to have the ability to concurrently design hardware, software, firmware, and manage all forms of computer systems used in industry. They are expected to have a thorough understanding of both the hardware and software aspects of computers. They should be able to analyse and solve computer-oriented problems.

Career paths and employment opportunitiesThere are two major traditional career paths in Computer Engineering: hardware and software.

Computer Hardware Engineers focus on research, design, development and testing of computer hardware [2]. They are also involved in supervision and production of computer hardware. It is the duty of a computer hardware engineer to ensure that all pieces of hardware and software work together flawlessly and efficiently. Their work is similar to that of electronic engineers in the sense that they both design and test electronic components; the work of computer hardware

engineers is, however, limited to computers and computer related equipment.

On the other hand, Computer Software Engineers focus more on the computer science side of computer engineering. They develop, design, and test software to meet the needs of a business or an individual [3]. They often work closely with product development, software quality assurance and technical support to ensure solid product development and production from start to finish. Their programming skills are generally less than those of computer science graduates,but they have a better understanding of the hardware.

Over the years, a number of speciality areas which integrate software and hardware concepts to certain degrees have emerged. A few possibilities are:

• Network engineers: Network engineers are responsible for designing, planning, installing, maintaining and supporting computer networks within organisations. They are also responsible for the research, development, an implementation of important security information for the network.

• Embedded systems engineers: Embedded systems are computer systems designed to do a few dedicated tasks, usually with real-time computing constraints [4]. They are embedded in a specific device, providing hardware and mechanical parts. Devices that contain embedded systems include automobiles, GPS systems, Internet routers, cell phones, washing machines, etc. Companies developing these products are most likely going to hire embedded systems engineers.

• System engineers: A system engineer’s work incorporates the design, management, and logistics behind complex computer engineering based projects within the employers’ vision and understanding. They coordinate different development team members. They also determine necessary tools to complete the project.

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Computer Engineering should not be confused with Computer Science, Computer Programming, Information Technology or Computer Systems Administration.

UNAM students doing a lab practical on programmable electronics.

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• Signal, image, and speech processing engineers: Computer Engineers in this area are responsible for developing and maintaining algorithms for processing text, speech, audio, images and videos for efficient storage, transmission, and effective human perception. These algorithms are tailored for applications such computer games, video conferencing, video on demand, and web TV.

Attributes of a good computer engineerThe major attributes of a good computer engineer include the following:• Attention to detail: A slightest error can lead to serious

problems. It is, therefore, extremely important for a computer engineer to pay serious attention to detail.

• Lifelong learning: The field of Computer Engineering is developing rapidly. As a result, computer engineers are supposed not to rest on their laurels, but to be lifelong learners.

• Good written and oral communication skills: Since computer engineers work closely with programmers, designers, product developers and testers, they really need to have strong interpersonal and communication skills, as well as the ability to work in a team.

• Creative and innovative thinking: A good computer engineer should be able to come up with innovative solutions to problems.

• Vast technical knowledge: A good computer engineer is supposed to have an understanding of a variety of com-puter systems and computer problems.

BSc in Computer Engineering curriculum requirementsLike all Bachelor of Science in Engineering programs, students who wish to pursue a career in Computer Engineering must have a strong foundation in Mathematics and Science. In most cases, it takes four years of training to complete the programme. The first year and part of the second year focus on fundamental engineering subjects. The latter years focus on more discipline specific subjects. The Computer Engineering programme at the University of Namibia produces Computer Hardware Engineers.

In the first year of study, the following modules are covered: Engineering Mathematics I, Engineering Drawing, Physics for Physical Sciences I, Computing Fundamentals, Workshop Practice, Funda mentals of Engineering, Fundamentals of Elec trical Engi-neering, Contemporary Issues, Engi neering Mathematics II,

Material Science, Physics for Physical Sciences II, Engineering Mechanics I, Chemistry IB, and English for Academic Purposes.

Second year modules include Engineering Mathe matics II, Engineering Mechanics II, Computer Science for Engineers, Computer Aided Drawing, Statistics for Engineers, Electric Circuit Analysis I, Analogue Electronics I, Engi-neering Mathematics IV, Data Structures and Algorithms, Object Oriented Programming, Digital Electronics, Telecommunication Prin-

ciples, Computer Organisation and Assembly Language, and Industrial Attachment I.

In the third year, the following modules are covered: Fundamentals of Economics, Advanced Object Oriented Programming, Analogue Electronics II, Software Engineering I, Programmable Electronics Design, Microprocessor Systems, Database Systems, Experimental and Research Methods, Entrepreneurship, Embedded Systems Design I, System Software Design, Software Engineering II, Computer Networks, Artificial Intelligence, Operating Systems, and Industrial Attachment II.

In the fourth year, the first semester is dedicated to course work while the second semester is set aside for a Research Project and IT Design Project. The first semester subjects include Society and the Engineer, Project Management, Network Security, Digital Image Processing, Control Engineering, Computer Systems Performance, Computer Design and Architecture, and Research Proposal.

For more on the undergraduate Computer Engineering curri-culum at the University of Namibia, the interested reader is referred to the prospectus of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology [5]. While UNAM produced its first Graduate Computer Engineers in the 2012 academic year, it should be noted that UNAM is also training Electronics and Computer Engineers who will graduate in two years’ time.

References[1] IEEE Computer Society; ACM (12 December 2004). Computer Engineering 2004: Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Computer Engineering. p. 4. Retrieved 12 April, 2013.[2] “Computer Hardware Engineers.” Published by Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 12 April 2013. <http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-andengineering/ computer-hardware-engineers.htm>[3] “Computer Software Engineer.” Published by Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 12 April 2013. <http://www.bls.gov/k12/computers04.htm> [4] Steve Heath, Embedded Systems Design, Newnes, p.2, 2003.[5] “Faculty of Engineering and Information technology: Prospectus 2012.” Published by the University of Namibia, pp. 52 -80. Retrieved 12 April 2013 <http://www.unam.na/faculties/Engineering2012.pdf>.[6] I.S. Jacobs and C.P. Bean, “Fine particles, thin films and exchange anisotropy,” in Magnetism, vol. III, G.T. Rado and H. Suhl, Eds. New York: Academic, 1963, pp. 271-350.

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