
Managing Director of The IIE’s Varsity College, Vega & IIE MSA
The Independent Institute of Education (IIE), a SA private higher education institution and a division of JSE-listed ADvTech, has received full accreditation from the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) making it the first private higher education provider in the country to be recognised in this manner by the industry authority.
All engineering degrees in South Africa must be offered with the approval of ECSA. The IIE has been offering ECSA-endorsed Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng) degrees since 2018. During the initial development stages and in the first years of offering these degrees, ECSA conducted various site visits and reviews of IIE’s B.Eng Degrees, to ensure that the qualifications adhere to best practice and to national and international standards for engineering.
Significant milestone
Full accreditation has now been awarded for IIE’s B.Eng Degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and in Mechanical Engineering.
“This milestone is truly significant as the IIE becomes the first private higher education institution in Africa to receive full accreditation for engineering degrees under the international Washington Accord,” says Louise Wiseman, Managing Director of the IIE’s Varsity College, Vega & IIE MSA.
Finalising criteria
Due to historic criteria, private higher education institutions in South Africa may not, at present, call themselves private Universities. However, the Department of Higher Education and Training is in the process of finalising criteria for institutions with the aim of ensuring that qualifying private higher education institutions may rightly be recognised as private universities (as opposed to state-funded public universities).
“This latest recognition re-affirms that IIE is uniquely positioned in the private sector to provide the highest quality of academic excellence, while ensuring our qualifications and students are deservedly recognised, in line with their peers in public universities, in the industry and the workplace,” Louise concludes.