A Comparative Study of Accreditation for Engineering and Technology Education in Malaysia and Japan

Accreditation plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and relevance of engineering studies since engineering is a complex and technical discipline that requires a strong foundation of knowledge and skills. The accreditation process in Engineering & Technical Education began voluntarily with the assistance of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) in the USA. This paper aims to make a comparison between the current situation of accreditation in Malaysia and Japan. This comparison is based on publicly available information from respective websites. Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (JABEE) is the organization that carries out accreditation activities in Japan where JABEE is a non-governmental organization responsible for handling the accreditation process not only for engineering but also cover other fields such as computer and Information Technology, and Architectural. Accreditation in Malaysia is regulated by the Malaysian Government through Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) which was established in 2007. Engineering and Engineering Technology programs are accredited by the Board of Engineer Malaysia (BEM), while technology programs are accredited by the Malaysia Board of Technology (MBOT). The differences in accreditation as well as education system can be observed due to the difference in educational culture for both countries.