Page 7 - Annual Report 2014-2015

STATEMENT 7
the economy coupled with the growing emergence of new scienti c and technological developments in areas such as biomedical engineering, nanotechnologies, and information and communications technologies. This was the rationale for the timely and highly relevant FEANI conference "Lisbon Strategy: Engineering the Future”, held in October 2015 in Lisbon, where 220 participants from 30 different countries could take advantage of the expertise of leading European researchers, industrialists and politicians.
Europe is facing a dif cult vocational problem in attracting young people for engineering studies. It is now doubtful, and it will become worst in the future, the European supremacy on innovation and industrial competitiveness. On the other hand there are great discrepancies in the distribution of engineers with shortage in northern countries and surplus in the southern countries which brings opportunities for mobility. Education, training and employment of young engineers is an European problem to what FEANI and the National Members must be aware. In October 2015, included in the FEANI Annual Business Meetings, in Lisbon, the rst European Young Engineers Forum was held. The conference “Collaborative Engineering - The European Way” had the participation of 155 attendees from 14 different countries, and constituted a very successful forum for open discussion of the future of science and technology in Europe and the employment challenges for young engineers.
Mobility of engineers in Europe implies mutual recognition of academic and professional experience. FEANI European Monitoring Committee had a deep re ection on the effec- tiveness of the three available instruments: INDEX, EUR ING title, and Engineering Card. This should be seminal for a wider and more integrated future discussion about the impli- cations of the Article 49a of the directive on the recognition of professional quali cations.
As a leading European Professional Association, FEANI searches for continuous and effective cooperation with other engineering professional organizations such as: World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), European Network of Accreditation Agencies for the Engineering
Education (ENAEE), European Council of Engineering Chambers (ECEC), European Council of Civil Engineers (ECCE), Board of European Students of Technology (BEST), European Young Engineers (EYE), etc. The organisation of the “European Engineers Day” and the “Common Training Principles” project are examples of this FEANI cooperative work with other European associations.
Hopefully in the future the special relationship between FEANI as a Professional Association and ENAEE as an Institution for Accreditation of Engineering Education will result in a more intensi ed and close cooperation in common projects. Regardless of the speci c model for this cooperation, I am sure that these two institutions have the appropriate expertise and the necessary network links to promote a common platform aiming the enhancement of visibility and social recognition of engineering in Europe. I am convinced that a holistic and integrated view of the engineering reality and its relationship with academia and industry should be very bene cial to improve the quality of engineering education, the competences of engineers and mobility of students and professionals, while safeguarding and promoting the interests of engineers and the society as a whole.
High standards of safety and well-being in modern societies can be achieved through advances in engineering. FEANI may ensure that the professional quali cations of the European engineers meet the requirements of creativity and innovation necessary for this aim. I feel con dent that with the support of the National Members, FEANI may be in a position to help - not only for this to be desirable - but possible. 