Page 29 - Annual Report 2016-2017

KIVI Section International Engineers
In 2016 one of the disciplinary sections turned its name and focus unto ‘’KIVI International Engineers’’. The goal of this section is to offer professional activities to foreign engineers who work in The Netherlands, and to connect them to Dutch engineers as well.
KIVI Academic Society Award
During the yearly organised Engineers’ Day, KIVI awarded the Academic Society Award of 2017 to Nobel Prize laureate Ben Feringa, Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Groningen. He received the award in appreciation of the great importance of his research and the appealing manner in which he links science with society.
Online Professional Development tool
KIVI nalised its development work on their Online Professional Development (OPD) tool. The OPD tool provides support for KIVI members to strategize and plan their professional development in a user friendly and simple manner. Guidance is given about how to plan for further development and what options one may consider. The OPD tool is structured yet exible enough to accom- modate engineers at all career stages and in various roles. The feedback during development was very positive, both from individual engineers as well as from technology- based companies who wish to use it for their employees.
Mutual Recognition Agreements for Chartered Engineers with Portugal and Spain
With the Chartered Engineer structure, KIVI has provided its engineers in the Netherlands with a widely recog- nized international quality standard. According to the same standards as we use, other countries also provide a framework for ensuring quality and continuous profes- sional development of their engineers.
In this context, on 6 June 2017 KIVI signed an agreement for mutual recognition with the Ordem dos Engenheiros (Portugal). The Dutch ambassador in Portugal, H.E. Govert Bijl de Vroe, was present on behalf of the Dutch government. On 13 September a similar agreement was signed with the Asociación de Ingenieros Profesionales de España (AIPE) in Spain, in the presence of the Dutch ambassador in Spain, H.E. Matthijs van Bonzel.
The scope of these Mutual Recognition Agreements is to regulate that professional engineers registered with one party, automatically be fully recognised and registered at an equal level by the other party. The cooperation agreement is a building block for improved mobility and further continuous professional development of engineers from both organisations beyond the limits of their country. In the words of Ambassador Van Bonzel: “The agreement between the engineering associations represents an important step towards the freedom of service as a cornerstone of the single market. Recognition of mutual professional quali cations is one of the hot hangovers in the completion of the European single market. This Agreement is an example for other professional groups how the private sector itself takes the initiative to strengthen the internal market. I value the mobility of companies and professionals throughout the EU and therefore congrat- ulate KIVI on this initiative, which strengthens cooperation between Dutch and Spanish engineers.”
With these cooperation agreements KIVI helps to stimulate and further develop their engineers' knowledge and skills, and increase their chances in a bi- and multilateral context.
REPORTS FROM NATIONAL MEMBERS 29