New Zealand Council of Engineering Deans

Be ranked amongst leading OECD countries

New Zealand currently has one of the lowest OECD rankings in terms of the numbers of graduate professional engineers per head of population.   There appears to be a correlation between a nation’s ranking on such a list and its economic performance.   Consequently, the growth of the knowledge economy has been restricted and foreign investment in New Zealand deterred.   Strategies to raise New Zealand’s ranking include:

  • Ensuring Government and policy makers are aware of the ranking and of its consequences
  • Determining an appropriate set of performance indicators based on international standards.   This would include standards for funding, staffing and technical support within tertiary institutions and numbers of graduates/head of population.
  • Collecting, collating and publishing information on engineering programmes in New Zealand in terms of the performance indicators
  • Benchmarking performance against educational institutions in Australia and the United Kingdom
  • Collectively working to raise participation rates and the quality of engineering programmes offered