9a66db89-9cc4-4b7d-b8e5-9eb0ef67764e

7/29/2019 9a66db89-9cc4-4b7d-b8e5-9eb0ef67764e

1/8|The Institution o Structural Engineers|Initial Proessional Development and the Proessional Review Interview| Guidance to candidates |1

1. The IPD older specifes the educational base required or progression to Chartered

Membership. Im conused; I have a BEng (Hons) and dont know whether my qualifcation is

ok. Do I have to complete a period o urther learning?

The issue o academic qualications is a complicated one. I you are in any doubt you should

contact the Institutions Membership Department or Proessional Development Ocer who will be

able to conrm the status o your degree.

The current educational requirements (UK-SPEC 2008) are as ollows:

Chartered Membership;

AccreditedMEngdegree(normally4yearsfulltimeortheequivalent)

AccreditedBEng(Hons)degreeplusanappropriateperiodoffurtherlearningegMSc,PGDipetc.

Associate-Membership;

AccreditedthreeyearIEngdegreeegBSc

AccreditedHNDplusappropriateperiodoffurtherlearning

Technician Membership;

AccreditedNationalCerticateortheequivalent

2. What exactly is IPD?

The Institution denes IPD as ollows:

IPDcomprisestheacquisitionanddevelopmentofthespecialistknowledgeandskills,andtheir

practicalapplication,thatareneededtopractiseasastructuralengineer.

3. What are the main aspects o the IPD regulations?

The IPD system is not time-serving but is based on the candidates ability to satisy 13 Core

Objectives (12 Core Objectives or Technician Membership).

Initial Proessional Development and the

Proessional Review Interview: Guidance toCandidates

00136

InternationalHQ

11UpperBelgraveStreet

LondonSW1X8BH

United Kingdom

tel: +44(0)2072354535

fax: +44(0)2072354294

[email protected]

www.istructe.org

7/29/2019 9a66db89-9cc4-4b7d-b8e5-9eb0ef67764e

2/82|The Institution o Structural Engineers|Initial Proessional Development and the Proessional Review Interview| Guidance to candidates

These 12/13 Objectives are highlighted in the Institutions Initial Proessional Development ( IPD)

regulations which may be ound on the Institutions website (www.istructe.org).

ItisimportanttonotethatwhilstthenewIPDsystemisnottime-serving,itwouldonlybein

exceptional circumstances that you would be able to satisy the Core Objectives with less than three

or our years experience.

4. I have been advised that there are dierent standards or each o the Core Objectives. What

are these standards?

There are our dierent standards that apply to the Core Objectives:

A Ageneralappreciationofthesubjectisrequired,aswellasanunderstandingofhowthesubjectmayaffect,orintegratewithothersubjects.

K Aknowledgeandunderstandingofthesubjectanditsapplicationisrequired.

E The subject should be perormed independently or under supervision

B Performthesubjectwithoutsupervisionandbecompetenttoadviseothers

It is important to note that you are not required to be experts in all o the Objectives. You are simply

required to satisy the minimum standard as specied in the Objective.

5. I have read the Guidance Notes under each Core Objective. Do I have to complete all the

activities listed in the guidance notes?

TheguidancenotesundereachCoreObjectiveare,asthenamesuggests,simplyguidancenotes!

The notes are not exhaustive and simply highlight some o the ways in which candidates may

demonstrate that they have satised the Objective. Other activities may also contribute to a specic

Objective and may be recorded.

However,whilstthenotesaresimplydesignedtoguideyouitshouldbenotedthatifyouhavenot

undertaken a number o activities specied in the notes you may nd it dicult to demonstrate thatyou have met the minimum requirement o the Objective.

6. There are three ways o proceeding through the IPD regulations. Which route should I

ollow?

There are indeed three routes candidates can ollow through the IPD regulations and these are listed

below:

1. Individually Managed IPD

2. AccreditedTrainingScheme

3. Retrospectively Collated IPD

7/29/2019 9a66db89-9cc4-4b7d-b8e5-9eb0ef67764e


Forfulldescriptionsoftheroutespleaserefertopages4and5oftheIPDregulations.

Astowhichrouteyoushouldfollowthisdependslargelyonyou,youremployerandyour

circumstances. It would be air to say that the Institution would certainly preer you to ollow the

IndividuallyManagedorAccreditedTrainingSchemeroutesasitfeelsthatcandidatesbenetfrom

a structured training programme with the support o mentors. The ees that you will be required to

pay or the Proessional Review Interview refect this act as candidates ollowing the Retrospectively

Collated Route are required to pay 100* as compared to 60* or all other candidates (*gures or

2009year).

7. I graduated rom university two years ago but only recently became a Graduate Member o

the Institution. Consequently I have only recently become aware o the new IPD regulations

and am unsure as to which route I should ollow.

Asstatedabove,therouteyoushouldfollowdependslargelyonyourcircumstancesandin

particular when you are planning to apply or the Proessional Review Interview.

I you are not planning to take the Interview or another two or three years you will have time

to ollow the Individually Managed Route and build up sucient records o your training and

experience which will have been signed o by your mentor or mentors. The experience gained in

yourrsttwoyearsofemployment,priortoyoustartingontheIndividuallyManagedRoute,willstill

contributetotheCoreObjectives.However,thereportformsyouarerequiredtocompleteunderthe

Individually Managed Route should not be backdated. I you have gained experience beore starting

on the Individually Managed Route you should simply write a general report covering the rst two

years o experience showing how your training contributed to the Core Objectives.

IfhoweveryouplantotaketheInterviewinlessthan1824months,therewillprobablybe

insucient time to build up an appropriate amount o documentation under the Individually

Managed Route. Consequently it would probably be advisable to apply under the Retrospectively

Collated Route clearly identiying the projects you have undertaken in the preceeding our years o

employment.

8. I have decided to ollow the Individually Managed Route but I am not sure whether I have to

register with the Institution.

You cannot register as a trainee with the Institution as it does not have a ormal training agreement.

HoweveritisstronglyrecommendedthatyoubecomeaGraduateMemberoftheInstitutionatthe

earliest opportunity in order that you can benet rom the many services available to Graduate

Members. For an application orm please reer to www.istructe.org/membership

The Institution has deliberately designed the IPD regulations to be fexible to cater or candidates

withdifferentbackgrounds.AssuchyouarenotrequiredtosignanagreementwiththeInstitution

neither you nor your employer are required to pay any kind o registration ee. The Institution rmly

believes that the vast majority o the work during your period o IPD is undertaken by you and your

mentors and consequently the Institution does not make a charge or its IPD system.

AlthoughtheInstitutiondoesnotrequireyoutoregisteronanagreementnorindeedsubmitanyof

yourreportsduringyourperiodofIPD,theInstitutionsProfessionalDevelopmentOfcer,MrAllan

7/29/2019 9a66db89-9cc4-4b7d-b8e5-9eb0ef67764e


Brereton,isalwaysavailabletoansweranyqueriesyoumayhaveandtoensurethatyourrecords/

documentationis100%inorder,readyforyourapplicationforChartered/ Technician/Associate-

Membership.Allanmaybecontactedasfollows:

Tel: +44(0)2072019123

Fax: +44( 0) 2072354294

Email [email protected]

9. I am ollowing the Individually Managed Route but I am not sure which orms I should

complete.

There are three orms in the IPD regulations:

1. IPDQuarterlyReportFormforuseatperiodicintervalsduringIPD

2. Progress Summary Record

3. IPD Final Report Form

The rst two orms above should be completed each time you meet with your mentor or mentors

normally every three months. The IPD Final Report Form should only be completed immediately

beore applying or the Proessional Review.

10. How do I complete the IPD Quarterly Report Form and Progress Summary Record?

IPDQuarterlyReport

TheIPDQuarterlyReportFormissplitintovesections.Therstthreecoverthethreemaingroups

ofCoreObjectivesPersonal,Engineering,ManagementandCommercial.Ineachofthesethree

sections you are required to list training or experience you have received in the preceding two or

three months which contributes to specic Core Objectives. For example i you have attended a

branch meeting o the Institution this would contribute to Core Objective 1.1 and consequently you

wouldnotethisdownontheIPDQuarterlyReportForm(seeappendix1).

TheIPDQuarterlyReportFormisdesignedtosimplylistverybriefdetailsoftheactivitiesundertaken. I you wish to add urther inormation you may use additional sheets providing each

sheetissignedbybothyouandthementor/s.Alternatively,youmaywriteareportexpandingon

eachofthebulletpointswhichmaybeattachedtotheIPDQuarterlyReportForm.Althoughthe

Institutiondoesnotwishyoutowritelengthyreports,itisadvisabletokeepdetailedrecordsof

your training and experience. These detailed records will help you to complete the IPD Final Report

Forms,perhapsthreeorfouryearslater.

ThefourthsectionoftheformisyourDevelopmentActionPlanandyoushouldlistactivitiesyou

plan to undertake in the next two/three month period to satisy other Objectives.

The mentor should complete the th section o the orm and both the candidate and the mentor

should sign the orm.

7/29/2019 9a66db89-9cc4-4b7d-b8e5-9eb0ef67764e


Progress Summary Record

TheProgressSummaryRecordshowsyourlogicalprogressionthroughtheCoreObjectives.Ata

glance you and your mentors can see where work needs to be done and at the Proessional Review

Interview the Reviewers can see how you have progressed through each Objective.

Forexample,ifwelookatCoreObjective2.2AnalysisandDesignwemightexpectacandidateto

haveanappreciation(standardA)ofthisupongraduationfromuniversity.Howeverafterthreetosix

months within a company the graduate may have a good knowledge o what design and analysis

isallabout(standardK).Afurther12monthsalongandthecandidatemayhaveexperience

(standard E) in many o the elements o analysis and design and ultimately ater three or our years

thecandidatemayhaveanability(standardB)toperformtheobjectivewithoutsupervisionandbe

competent to advise others.

Inllingintheformstherefore,youshouldsimplynotethedateofyourmeetingswithyourmentors

and the level o attainment reached at that date.

11. When should I complete the IPD Final Report Form?

OnceyouandyourmentorsaresatisedthatalltheCoreObjectiveshavebeencompleted,you

may consider applying or the Proessional Review. Immediately beore applying or the Review you

shouldcompletetheIPDFinalReportFormforeachofthe12/13CoreObjectives.Again,additional

sheets may be used providing they are signed by you and your mentors.

The IPD Final Report should be your statement summarising how all your experience and training

has enabled you to satisy the requirements o the Objective.

You are strongly advised to read the Objective and include appropriate and relevant statements.

Forexample,underCoreObjective1.1(Institution),youarerequiredtohaveaknowledgeofthe

Institution and involvement in Institution aairs. You should not write a two-page report on the

history and development o the Institution. Reviewers do not want to read that the Institution was

formedin1908orthatitgaineditsRoyalCharterin1934.TheReviewerswanttoknowhowyou

gained the knowledge and what activities you have been involved in.

We do not produce example IPD Final Report Forms simply because this process is very subjective

and the content o the orms can vary wildly between dierent candidates. We are conscious o

the act that the experiences o engineers can dier massively across the world and we want

theIPDforms/portfoliotoreecttheindividualexperiencesoftheseapplicants,andwedonot

wish to prescribe a particular way o completing them as being correct. The ear is that some

applicants would take the examples as being the denitive way to do things and this may result in a

detrimental misrepresentation o their experience and abilities.

However,thegeneraladvicewewouldgiveis:

1. MakeitpersonaltheReviewerswillnotbeinterestedinwhatyourcompanydoes,they

areonlyinterestedinwhatyouhavedone.Therefore,ensurethatyoustatewhatyou

have personally undertaken and try to avoid generic statements about how your company

operates;

7/29/2019 9a66db89-9cc4-4b7d-b8e5-9eb0ef67764e


2. Make it positive dont sell yoursel short. This is an Interview ater all so ocus on your

strengths and dont highlight weaknesses i you do have limitations these will be picked

upbytheReviewersduringtheInterview,thereisnoneedtostatethemontheIPDFinal

Report Forms. Try to avoid statements such as I have limited/some experience you either

haveexperienceornot.Alsotryandensurethatthecorrectwordsareappliedtotherelevant

ObjectivesegifitsanabilityObjective,dontuseexperienceorknowledgealwaysuse

ability. This may seem unnecessarily pedantic but it can remove some possible concerns

the Reviewers may have;

3. Ensure you state how you have achieved the Core Objective standards all too oten

candidates all into the trap o simply describing the Objective or stating why it is important.

This is not what the Reviewers will want to know. There is no benet in describing the

properties o various materials (or Objective 2.3) as the Reviewers will already knowthis; what they need to know is how you have developed your understanding o materials

and what practical experience you have. So be sure to detail how you have gained your

knowledge o the Core Objective and in what ways you have used this knowledge to the

standard expected o the Objective.

12. I am considering applying or the Proessional Review. What inormation am I required to

submit?

The documentation that you are required to submit at the time o your application depends upon

the IPD route you have ollowed. Full details o the submission requirements may be ound under

section6oftheapplicationform.ApplicationformsmaybedownloadedfromtheInstitutions

website at www.istructe.org/membership.

13. What should I expect rom the Proessional Review Interview?

The Proessional Review Interview is designed to test your ability and ensure that you have satised

all 12/13 Core Objectives. The length o the Interview will vary according to the dierent routes and

the length o time it takes or the Reviewers to determine whether you have reached the required

standard in each Objective. The Reviewers will ask you to make a presentation o no more than

15minutes(noelectronicaidswillbeallowed)andconsequentlyanInterviewislikelytolastan

average o 60 minutes.

WhilsttheReviewerswilltrytohelpyoubyaskingappropriatequestions,itisimportantthat

you realise that the onus is on you to demonstrate that you have achieved the stated attainment

levelsforALL12/13CoreObjectives.InordertopasstheInterviewandproceedtotheChartered

Membership exam you must pass all 12/13 Objectives. Failure in one Objective will constitute a

ailure in the Interview and you will be required to reapply the ollowing year.

14. What happens i I ail the Interview?

AftertheInterviewtheReviewersarerequiredtocompleteaSummaryReportFormwhichindicates

whether you have passed all 12/13 Objectives. This orm is returned to the Institution and reviewed

bytheApplicationsandProfessionalReviewPanel.IfyouaredeemedtohavefailedtheInterview

the Institution secretariat will write to you and advise you o the Core Objectives where you did not

7/29/2019 9a66db89-9cc4-4b7d-b8e5-9eb0ef67764e


suciently demonstrate achievement o the required standard. I you ail three or less Objectives

youwillonlybeinterviewedonthoseObjectivesthefollowingyear.However,ifyoufailfourormore

Objectives you will be required to sit the ull Interview the next year.

15. What happens ater I pass the Interview?

AsabovetheSummaryReportFormisconsideredbytheApplicationsandProfessionalReview

Panel. I you are deemed to have passed all 12/13 Objectives you will receive an Examination

EntryFormfortheChartered/Associate-MembershipExaminationorwillbeelectedtoTechnician

Membership,asappropriate.

16. Further queries?

IfyouhavefurtherqueriespleasecontacttheProfessionalDevelopmentOfcer,AllanBrereton.Itis

importantthatyou,thecandidate,providesfeedbacktotheInstitutioninorderthatwemayupdate

this guidance note and provide the maximum inormation to candidates.

7/29/2019 9a66db89-9cc4-4b7d-b8e5-9eb0ef67764e

8/8

IPD Quarterly Report Form- or use at periodic intervals

during IPD

Quarterly Report | The Institution o Structural Engineers |

Candidate Name: Joe Bloggs

Membership No: 07444444

Date: 1 April, 2002

Period covered by Report: 1 January, 2002 - 1 April, 2002

Report:

1. Personal:

1.1 Attended Institution Ordinary Meeting Safety & Ethics 24 January 2002

1.1 Reviewed Institutions Code of Conduct 25 February 2002

1.1 Attended ICE meeting Sustainability: The Way Forward - 23 March 2002

1.2 Worked on project X which required me to develop knowledge of a new piece of software

X Jan March 2002

2. Engineering:

3. Management and Commercial:

4. Development Action Plan/Objectives or next period:

Mentors Comments:

Candidate Signature:

Mentors Signature: Mentors name (print):

Continue on separate sheet i necessary. Photocopying o orm is permitted.

9a66db89-9cc4-4b7d-b8e5-9eb0ef67764e

Documents