Hi Andy,

firstly,  you've presented me with my first learning challenge of the day - I was convinced I was signed up to the registration and standards community,  but when I look in my list of available communities and can't find it! Can you give me any clues how I get to it and add it to my list?


Secondly,  while I can't answer your question for the present,  and have asked the same question myself previously,  I can provide the historical perspective which,  perhaps unsurprising ties in with one of Roy B's comments.  When I went through C.Eng registration,  it was under SARTOR- v3 if I remember correctly.  Under that,  there were only two ways to demonstrate your (scientific) academic ability,  one was with a degree,  the other was the mature candidate scheme. 


As the title suggests,  there was an age threshold for the latter - 35 if I recall correctly.  But then you had to submit a technical paper,  the sole purpose of which was to demonstrate academic ability to an equivalent level as a degree.  It was assessed before interview and progressing to interview meant you'd already attained that goal, in theory it didn't contribute to any other competencies,  but it did in fact,  like a presentation,  provide a useful vehicle for interview questions for other competencies. 


I had the opportunity to see examples of successful papers and,  based on what I saw on them, I used an immunisation study I was carrying out for Irish Rail,  which was particularly useful as it was unusually for overhead dc traction,  and I developed my whole analysis right back to first principles of harmonic analysis of rectified,  poorly smoothed ac waveforms when train units were drawing load,  or returning it under regenerative braking,  even going back to fourier analyis (not fourier transforms, a common confusion), then of both inductive and capacitive coupling, 


It is a matter of concern,  or at least curiosity,  for me as to how such detailed academic knowledge is demonstrated now,  either for non- degree candidates,  or those where their degree is a matter of distant history with the potential to have been forgotten or simply fallen into disuse.

Hi Andy,

firstly,  you've presented me with my first learning challenge of the day - I was convinced I was signed up to the registration and standards community,  but when I look in my list of available communities and can't find it! Can you give me any clues how I get to it and add it to my list?


Secondly,  while I can't answer your question for the present,  and have asked the same question myself previously,  I can provide the historical perspective which,  perhaps unsurprising ties in with one of Roy B's comments.  When I went through C.Eng registration,  it was under SARTOR- v3 if I remember correctly.  Under that,  there were only two ways to demonstrate your (scientific) academic ability,  one was with a degree,  the other was the mature candidate scheme. 


As the title suggests,  there was an age threshold for the latter - 35 if I recall correctly.  But then you had to submit a technical paper,  the sole purpose of which was to demonstrate academic ability to an equivalent level as a degree.  It was assessed before interview and progressing to interview meant you'd already attained that goal, in theory it didn't contribute to any other competencies,  but it did in fact,  like a presentation,  provide a useful vehicle for interview questions for other competencies. 


I had the opportunity to see examples of successful papers and,  based on what I saw on them, I used an immunisation study I was carrying out for Irish Rail,  which was particularly useful as it was unusually for overhead dc traction,  and I developed my whole analysis right back to first principles of harmonic analysis of rectified,  poorly smoothed ac waveforms when train units were drawing load,  or returning it under regenerative braking,  even going back to fourier analyis (not fourier transforms, a common confusion), then of both inductive and capacitive coupling, 


It is a matter of concern,  or at least curiosity,  for me as to how such detailed academic knowledge is demonstrated now,  either for non- degree candidates,  or those where their degree is a matter of distant history with the potential to have been forgotten or simply fallen into disuse.