Hello,
I am writing to share my experience through this post to assist others who are in the process of becoming registered as a CEng.
Around one year ago, I began by gathering all the necessary documents and reviewing the UK-SPEC CEng requirements. I attended a webinar by IET on CEng and how to get registered. I started by completing my profile in Career Manager and then completed the self-assessment via the IET Career Manager and sought feedback from my colleagues at work. Then, I scheduled an appointment with a PRA via IET.
Unfortunately, my first meeting did not go as well as I had hoped. I was informed at the beginning of the meeting that there had been a change in the assigned PRA. The new PRA appeared to have limited time to review my documents and ended up mentioning general rules and guidance that I was already familiar with. One positive aspect of that meeting was when the PRA advised me not to solely rely on the self-assessment, which I had assumed would be the primary basis for evaluating my application. Instead, he mentioned that I have to cover UK-SPEC competence within the work experience section.
After spending some time editing my application, I arranged another meeting with PRA. This time, an incredibly helpful PRA joined the meeting. He thoroughly reviewed my application and provided me with valuable advice and guidance. (Is it okay to mention his name?)
I then worked on finalizing my application and sought the assistance of two supporters who are already registered as CEng (my current and previous managers). I then submitted my CEng application in 22 May 2023. The following timeline shows the rest of the process until the PRI notification.
Start of registration process: 9 June 2023
Pre-Interview Assessment Panel Notification: 19 July 2023
PRI Arrangement Date: 12 September 2023
Once I received a notification regarding my PRI, I started to prepare my presentation using this guidance: https://www.theiet.org/media/11735/professional-review-interview-guidance-notes.pdf One challenge I encountered was my dissatisfaction with the guidelines in which the presentation was explained in this guidance notes (i.e., competence-based). I then explored other resources and found this link: Sample Presentations | CIBSE. Although it is for Institution of Building Services Engineers, but it has a good approach of preparing the presentation based on project and not competence-based. This was also supported by several discussions and very helpful advices in most of EngX discussions like this one: CEng PRI & Presentation - Career Development - IET EngX - IET EngX (theiet.org)
I then prepared my presentation and aimed to cover all the competence within this presentation not only A&B. My presentation consisted of 6 slides. First slide consisted of timeline of my work/education experience and important milestones since receiving my BSc as well as my current position & responsibilities. Then, next three slides focused on one main project that I am responsible for. Slide 5 briefly described other projects. Slide 6 included details on my professional development plan and why I want to become a CEng. Thorough the presentation, I was mapping slides/sections with UK-SPEC competence.
I then arranged a meeting with my PRA to discuss my presentation and also got feedback from my manager and some colleagues. My PRI took place on 11th October 2023, and lasted for approximately 80 minutes. The interview was straightforward, and the assessors were very helpful and understanding throughout the interview. I then received an email that my application has been successful on 26th October 2023.
To provide additional context, I have a background in academia, where I worked until obtaining my PhD. Subsequently, I transitioned to the industry approximately 20 months ago.
I am more than happy to offer assistance to anyone who is still in the process.
Thank you,
Ahmed
