Purpose and Function
The IET represents the engineering profession in matters of public concern and assists governments to make the public aware of engineering and technological issues. It provides advice on all areas of engineering, regularly advising Parliament and other agencies.
The IET also grants Chartered Engineer and Incorporated Engineer professional designations on behalf of the Engineering Council UK. IEng is roughly equivalent to North American Professional Engineer designations and CEng is set at a higher level. Both designations have far greater geographical recognition.
This is made possible through a number of networks for engineers established by the IET including the Professional Networks, worldwide groups of engineers sharing common technical and professional interests. Through the IET website, these networks provide up-to-date sector-specific news, stock a library of technical articles and give members the opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas with peer groups through dedicated discussion forums. Particular areas of focus include education, IT, energy and the environment.
The IET has an educational role, seeking to support its members through their careers by offering a Professional Home for Life, producing advice and guidance at all levels to secure the future of engineering.
For instance, the IET accredits degree courses worldwide in subjects relevant to electrical, electronic, manufacturing and information engineering. In addition, it secures funding for professional development schemes for engineering graduates including awards scholarships, grants and prizes.
For the public, the IET website provides factsheets on topics such as solar power, nuclear power, fuel cells, micro-generation and the possible effects on health of mobile phones and power lines.
The IET runs the bibliographic information service Inspec, which is a major indexing database of scientific and technical literature and publishes books, journals such as Electronics Letters, magazines such as Engineering & Technology and conference proceedings. Over 80,000 technical articles are available via the IET Digital Library.
Read more about this topic: Institution Of Engineering And Technology
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