Road to China paved with opportunity for ASME after new agreements are signed

Emily Smith
ASME NEWS

The bonds between China's engineering community and ASME grew stronger in September when agreements on joint conferences, a faculty exchange program, and the training and marketing of the Society's Engineering Management Certification International became official.

While in China to sign two agreements and two Memoranda of Understanding, ASME President Harry Armen and Executive Director Virgil R. Carter also had discussions with representatives from several societies regarding joint membership, standards harmonization and nanotechnology.

ASME President Harry Armen and CMES President Yongxiang Lu meet in China.

In 2006, ASME's Mechanical Engineering Education Conference will be both co-hosted by another society and located in another country for the first time. Now that the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society and ASME have signed an MOU regarding co-sponsorship of the conference, the two organizations will need to work out conference specifics such as date, city, speakers, themes and special features to attract attendees. At press time, April was the target month and Beijing the city.

Although CMES agreed to use its publications to support ASME's certification program, two other organizations in China will have the official responsibility for the programs' training, examination and marketing components.

Under terms of the signed agreement, the China Association of International Exchange of Personnel will handle the promotion of the program to the Chinese engineering community and will oversee the certification examination process.

Meanwhile, Tsinghua University's School of Continuing Education will offer preparatory courses to engineers who plan to take the certification exam. The University will also offer continuing education courses to those who have obtained certification. Continuing education will be required in order for engineers to maintain their certification.

As the main stakeholder of the certification content, ASME's role will be in updating the body of knowledge for the certification program and developing exam questions.

ASME President Harry Armen, Chor Tan and Feiyu Kang, deputy dean, Tsinghua University during signing ceremony in China.

ASME also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese Nuclear Society and the Japanese Society of Mechanical Engineers to co-sponsor the International Conference on Nuclear Engineering 13 in Beijing in May 2005.

While in China, Armen and Carter also discussed the possibility of ASME functioning as a facilitator in an engineering-faculty exchange program with CMES, again, as its partner.

ASME's function would be to assist U.S. faculty at ABET accredited schools with the logistics of spending their sabbaticals in engineering programs at Chinese universities. The role of CMES would be similar, but for Chinese faculty interested in doing their sabbaticals in ABET accredited schools in the United States.

Chor Tan, formerly the managing director of education at ASME, who has been serving as an advisor to ASME on the details of setting up programs in China, said that this program would also be available to engineering faculty who are interested in doing research.

Regardless of whether or not membership is made a requirement for participation, Tan said the program would be a good vehicle for expanding membership in ASME or promoting joint membership between ASME and CMES. Tan, who was born in China and speaks Chinese, attended all meetings with Armen and Carter.

Tan said it was conceivable that an exchange program would be available as early as next year.

 

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