The ASEAN Chartered Professional Engineer Coordinating Committee (ACPECC) held its 49th meeting, bringing together representatives from all ten ASEAN Member States (AMS) to advance professional engineering collaboration, cross-border mobility, and recognition under the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) on Engineering Services.

1. Expanding the ASEAN Engineer Community

The Committee approved 270 new ASEAN Chartered Professional Engineers (ACPEs), bringing the total to 6,767 registered engineers, with 6,719 active across ASEAN.
The new approvals included engineers from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand — a milestone showing ASEAN’s continued progress toward a strong and interconnected network of engineering professionals.

2. Paving the Way for the ASEAN Engineering Awards

A highlight of the meeting was progress on the ASEAN Engineering Awards, jointly proposed by Singapore and Malaysia.
The initiative will recognize outstanding engineering achievements under two categories:

• Engineering Project Award
• Individual Awards (ASEAN Chartered Professional Engineer Award and Young ACPE Award)

The first awards ceremony is targeted for December 2024, celebrating excellence and innovation among ASEAN engineers.

3. Fostering Mobility and Professional Growth

Under the Technical Working Group on Mobility of ASEAN Engineers (TWG-MAE), several initiatives were advanced:

• Internship & Exchange Programme – Focused on reporting and recognition of existing exchange activities among engineers, with Thailand leading operational discussions.
• Capacity Building for Engineers – Cambodia will collaborate with the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organisations (AFEO) to enhance regional training opportunities.
• Common Process for Registered Foreign Professional Engineers (RFPE) – Indonesia completed the harmonisation of RFPE registration forms, procedures, and fee studies, marking this initiative as completed.
• Information Exchange Platform – A sub-committee will compile and analyze engineering standards across ASEAN to identify commonalities and bridge differences.

These initiatives aim to remove barriers, promote collaboration, and make it easier for ASEAN engineers to work across borders.

4. Supporting Digitalisation and Online Registration

The Committee noted growing adoption of online registration systems for both ACPE and RFPE applications:

• Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand have already moved online.
  This digital shift makes professional registration faster, more transparent, and accessible to engineers across the region.

5. Strengthening ACPECC’s Online Presence

The official ACPECC website – https://acpecc.org – continues to serve as the key platform for information sharing, registration data, and updates.
Member States agreed to further discuss website enhancements at future meetings to ensure up-to-date, accurate information for all stakeholders.

6. Regional Collaboration and Upcoming Events

The meeting highlighted several ongoing and upcoming regional initiatives:

• Indonesia will host the ACPE Forum on 2 November 2023, alongside the Konstruksi Indonesia 2023 exhibition.
• Malaysia will organize a Technical Forum in December 2023 during the National Technical Profession Day.
• The Philippines announced the Conference on Harmonisation of Codes and Standards for Mechanical Engineering in July 2023, involving ASEAN, Japan, and South Korea.
• Malaysia shared its publication “Who’s Who in Engineering Malaysia”, celebrating national engineering professionals.