India has recently taken a big leap forward in the area of engineering by becoming a member of the Washington Accord, a 10-member apex global organisation that determines standards of engineering education.
The Washington Accord has admitted India as a provisional member for two years after which it will become a full member. India's candidature had been proposed by UK, Australia and Canada, with a generous recommendation by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Getting the membership of Washington Accord means that Indian undergraduate engineering degrees will ultimately be given “equivalency” in all member countries. This means that Indian degrees will be recognised as engineering degrees of high international standard. However, it means only the elite IITs (Indian Institutes of Technologies) or BITS Pilani-type institutes qualify.
India had applied for membership to the accord in 2005, but had missed it by a margin. The Indian problem is that while Indian engineers have a better theoretical grounding than many other countries, their applications knowledge or abilities to work in cross-cultural ambience is poor. The Washington Accord currently has 10 members
