INITIAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTION

Corporate Membership of the Institution is a milestone that is reached by meeting the Institution's requirements for Initial Professional Development after attaining a suitable academic base. In becoming a Corporate member, a member implicitly accepts the commitment to maintain that competence through continuing professional development. The member also accepts the requirement to act at all times with professional integrity, as defined in the Institution's Code of Professional Conduct. Only Corporate embers may be considered to be professionally qualified naval architects.

The Institution's requirements are intended to ensure that a Graduate Member develops the professional knowledge, understanding and skills needed to provide a sound foundation for a career in naval architecture/marine technology, as well as specific competencies relevant to current employment.

This guidance on Initial Professional Development is addressed primarily to Graduate Members However, the requirements must also be met by anyone applying for direct election as a Corporate Member

Corporate membership classes

The Corporate classes of membership are Fellow, Member, Associate-Member and Associate. These classes reflect the way in which a Corporate member uses his or her education, training and experience. Click here for further information about membership classes.

EC(UK) Registration

The Royal Institution of Naval Architects is a Licensed and Nominated body of the Engineering Council, and Corporate members may be entered on to the appropriate Register - CEng, IEng or EngTech. A member must therefore meet the Institution's requirement for professional competence before he or she can be registered with the EC(UK) or other organisation which recognises the equivalence of membership of the Institution.

IPD MILESTONES

The four major milestones to becoming a Corporate member and registering with the EC(UK) are (1) achieving the required educational base, (2) developing professional competence through training and experience, (3) the application process and (4) the Professional Review.

1. EDUCATION

The Institution defines the exemplifying academic qualification required to become a Corporate member and register with the EC(UK). Candidates whose academic qualification meets this requirement may take the Standard Route to Corporate membership. Where their course has been accredited or approved by the Institution, no further proof is required, other than they do have this qualification. Where their course is not accredited or approved, the candidate is required to provide evidence that the course is equivalent to the exemplifying academic qualification. The Professional Affairs Department can advise on whether a course is accredited or approved, and if not, what evidence is required.

If a candidate does not have the exemplifying academic qualification, they may demonstrate they have achieved the required knowledge and understanding by experience through the Technical Report Route to membership and registration. They must submit a technical report which demonstrates that they have achieved the same level of knowledge and understanding as a candidate with the exemplifying academic qualification. The requirement may be met by a paper on a subject proposed by them and approved by the Institution, or by previously published technical papers. They will then be required to undergo an interview, based on the report. If this is satisfactory, they will then follow the Standard Route to Corporate membership.

Further information on the Technical Report Route is given in the RINA publication Guidance on the Technical Route to Corporate Membership and Registration (PDF file).

If a candidate without the exemplifying academic qualification does not wish to be registered, they may apply for membership through the Mature Candidate Route. They must submit an extended Professional Review Report which demonstrates that they have achieved the same level of professional competence as a candidate with the exemplifying academic qualification.

Further information on the Mature Candidate Route is given in the RINA publication Guidance on the Mature Candidate Route to Corporate Membership (PDF file).

2. DEVELOPING PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE

Corporate membership is dependent upon the candidate having achieved the required levels of competence across a range of activities relevant to the design, construction and maintenance of marine vessels and structures.

Whilst not being strictly time based, a period of four years of Initial Professional Development is considered to be the minimum a candidate would need in order to adequately achieve these abilities. During the course of this, the candidate would be expected to have held a position of responsibility appropriate to the class of membership they are seeking for a total of at least two years.

The Institution is flexible about how the Graduate Member has achieved the professional competence, which can be by experience, on-the-job training, or off-the-job courses. Any relevant previous engineering experience, not necessarily in the marine field, and work experience at an appropriate level gained prior to graduation may also help the member in part to meet the requirements. They should continually assess their current levels of knowledge, understanding and skills, and how these match what the Institution is looking for - this will enable them to identify and plan what additional professional development is needed. The Institution is able to advise a member in this respect.

Professional Development Objectives

The Institution requires that professional competences be achieved across a range of activities relevant to the design, construction and maintenance of marine vessels and structures. These requirements are defined in a number of Professional Development Objectives which the Graduate member is expected to achieve during their Initial Professional Development. These Objectives consist of a number of activities and the minimum levels of ability expected for each of the activities

The Professional Development Objectives are contained in the Institution's Professional Development Manual (PDF file)

Recording IPD activities

Graduate Members are required to maintain a record of their IPD activities. It is recommended that the Institution's IPD Logbook be used for this purpose. The IPD Logbook will then form the basis of the Professional Review Report. Download IPD Logbook (MS Word doc) MRINA | AMRINA | ARINA

3. APPLICATION

Having achieved the required levels of competence, a Graduate Member may then apply for transfer to the appropriate class of Corporate membership. All applications for Corporate membership are considered by the Institution's Membership Committee which meets five times per year. Applications should normally be received at least three weeks before the meeting at which they are considered.

Application Form

The first step is the completion of the application form, providing personal information, details of academic and professional qualifications and a brief record of employment from graduation, giving company, job title and brief description of job.

The application should normally be proposed by two Corporate members who should verify that to their best of their knowledge the information contained in the application is correct. However, if this cannot reasonably be achieved, it is acceptable for the application to be verified by two persons in positions of responsibility. Details of the positions held by such non-member proposers should be supplied with the application.

Unless the Graduate Member's academic course has been accredited or approved by the Institution, they may be required to provide documentary evidence of the content of the course to show that it is equivalent to the exemplifying academic standard required for the class of membership. The Institution's Professional Affairs Department can advise on this requirement.

4. PROFESSIONAL REVIEW

Professional Review Report

The application should also include a Professional Review Report, which should demonstrate that the Graduate Member has achieved the level and breadth of professional development required for Corporate membership. Although the route to Corporate membership may be different for every candidate, each is required to achieve the standards of professional competence defined by the Professional Development Objectives.

Further guidance is contained in the RINA publication Guidance on the Professional Review Report (PDF file)

Professional Review Interview

If the Membership Committee is satisfied that the Report has demonstrated that the Graduate Member has achieved the required professional competence and responsible experience, and the Graduate Member wishes to be registered with the EC(UK) as CEng or IEng, they will also be required to undertake a Professional Review Interview. If they do not wish to register with the EC(UK), the Interview may be waived.

Further guidance is contained in the RINA publication Guidance on the Professional Review Interview (PDF file).