SINGAPORE - The Institution of Engineers Singapore (IES) has launched a national search for Singapore's top 50 feats of engineering, in celebration of the country's 50th birthday this year and its own 50th anniversary next year.
From Aug 21 to Nov 30, the public will be able to nominate engineering projects completed in the past 50 years that they believe have made the greatest impact to the Republic, although they will have to contact the projects' managers for some details and to obtain consent.
The nominations can be for buildings, products, systems and other engineering accomplishments of any scale. The submissions will be reviewed by a panel of judges from the private and public sectors, and short-listed ones put up for a public vote from March to May next year.
The IES will announce the 50 projects with the most votes during its Golden Jubilee dinner in July 2016.
Launching the competition on Wednesday at the opening ceremony of the IES-organised World Engineers Summit on Climate Change 2015, IES president Chong Kee Sen said that engineers have provided "comfortable housing, efficient transportation and communication systems, clean water, proper sanitation and higher standards of living to the rest of mankind".
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, the guest-of-honour, added: "In Singapore, the work of engineers can be seen everywhere, in the green buildings, water treatment and incineration plants, the creation of new land from the sea, transportation networks, high-tech industries, entertainment facilities and much more."
Mr Teo also presented certificates to Singapore's first batch of 41 Chartered Engineers, who were in the aerospace, chemical and process, environmental and water, marine and offshore and systems engineering sectors.
The IES Chartered Engineers Programme accredits engineers in fields that do not require Professional Engineer registration, and gives employers a yardstick to judge potential hires. To qualify for the programme, engineers must have a recognised engineering degree and at least four years' practical experience, and their work, expertise and competence will be peer-reviewed.
Some 800 engineers, climate change experts and professionals from 35 countries are slated to attend the four-day summit, which began on Tuesday, at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.
