Study engineering in New Zealand

22 February 2013

New Zealand has a number of institutions offering top-quality IPENZ-accredited engineering degree programmes.

New Zealand is a developed, democratic and, compared to most of the world, remote country.

It has a population of approximately four million people living in an area 15% larger than the UK. The New Zealand economy and international trade is based on a diverse range of raw and value-added primary products, a vigorous niche manufacturing sector and a growing service sector and tourism.

New Zealand has over 400,000 students enrolled in tertiary education, of which about 140,000 are university students and about 6,500 are studying for degrees in engineering and related technologies.

“New Zealand is entering into a major period of infrastructure renewal and redevelopment and, as is consistent with a vibrant economy, there is a shortage of skilled and experienced engineers of all categories. Each year about 800 students graduate from professional engineering programmes”

New Zealand has eight universities, two of which - the University of Auckland and the University of Canterbury - have well established engineering schools offering professional engineering programmes in the traditional disciplines.

While these two universities are responsible for the majority of professional engineering graduates, Massey University also has an established school that operates across two campuses and focuses on manufacturing and industrial engineering to support the productive sector. The University of Waikato, AUT University and Victoria University of Wellington also have developing engineering schools.

New Zealand also has twenty Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs), a number of which offer engineering technologist or engineering technician education programmes.

New Zealand is entering into a major period of infrastructure renewal and redevelopment and, as is consistent with a vibrant economy, there is a shortage of skilled and experienced engineers of all categories. Each year about 800 students graduate from professional engineering programmes.

Qualifications for an international marketplaceEngineering education programmes in New Zealand are subject to general quality assurance requirements as a precondition of government funding. Tertiary institutions offering engineering degrees also choose to seek and maintain accreditation from the national professional body, The Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) - www.ipenz.org.nz

IPENZ has operated a formal accreditation process for professional engineering degree programmes (typically four year Bachelor of Engineering degrees) since 1980. IPENZ accreditation provides graduates with international recognition through the Washington Accord, a multilateral agreement established in 1989. IPENZ is a founding signatory to the agreement and other jurisdictions currently covered by the Accord are Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong China, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, the USA and the UK.

IPENZ also accredits degree programmes in engineering technology (three-year Bachelor of Engineering Technology degrees) to standards benchmarked internationally through the Sydney Accord. Other signatories to the Sydney Accord are currently Australia, Canada, Hong Kong China, Ireland, South Africa, the USA and the UK.

Graduates from IPENZ-accredited programmes benefit from gaining a qualification that is benchmarked 
to international standards and 
recognised internationally.

A current listing of IPENZ-accredited professional engineering and engineering technology degrees, with links to the tertiary institutions that offer them, can be found on the IPENZ website at - www.ipenz.org.nz/

Written by Brett Williams (2011)
Director, Learning and Assessment
IPENZ - Engineers New Zealand