NAMA of BC - Newsletter - July 1996 Issue

NAMABC - NEWSLETTER

ISSUE NO. 7-96 (July 1996)

CAMPING and PICNIC '96
by Pete F. de Guzman

The second annual NAMA camping and picnic was held during the B.C. Day long weekend (August 3-5) at the Veeder River Campground at Yarrow, B.C.. The clouds and showers during the long weekend event didn't dampen the spirit of most of our members that were able to attend. This year's camping was simultaneously held with FILCANSA's, another Filipino organization, whom we shared the group campground.

As always, the dedication of our members coupled with the enthusiasm of the officers ensure the success of the affair. Our external VP, Dexter Tarampi, lent us his huge tent. It served as great eating area and food preparation station, as well as shelter from the intermittent showers which lasted till Sunday, the second day of the picnic. Ben Dingcol spent extra effort and time in bringing the large tent in his trailer along with the tables, the freezer used to store the boxes of tilapia, the soft drinks and party ice.

On Saturday evening, NAMA and FILCANSA shared their foods. FILCANSA prepared the roast cow leg of while NAMA donated two boxes of tilapia (approximately 60 pieces). FILCANSA shared their kareoke system with NAMA.

After supper, the two groups prepared their own campfires. The Mapuans and guests have memorable time filled with jokes and music while munching delicious food shared by all. For some the merriment lasted till the early morning hours.

On Sunday, the ladies prepared a wonderful breakfast of bread, fried rice, eggs, sausages, bacon and spam mostly donated by NAMA. Other members and guests continued to arrive from Sunday morning till noontime with their home cooked foods. Breads and corns were bought through Dom Dorosan while the rest of the groceries were bought from Save on Foods through Pete dela Cruz.
Henry Laxamana and Richard Yee coordinated the sporting contest for both the children and adults. Prizes were solicited from the officers and members.

The adult winners generously donated their winnings towards the children's contests. NAMA members who are avid golfers joined the FILCANSA sponsored golf tournament on Sunday at 1:00 PM at the nearby golf course. Bert Cabilan, whose interest is fishing didn't have much luck in fishing for salmon in nearby Veeder Lake behind the campsite. Bert's not being able to add more fish to our food was not a cause for concern. NAMA donated five boxes of tilapia (approximately 150 pcs). On Sunday afternoon, when most of the guests were on site, the rest of the fish were fried. The huge fish disappear as fast as they are cooked for if there were several good cooks around there were even more members who want to sample the good taste. The food were supplemented with fresh fruits like watermelon, cantaloupe and banana, courtesy of our association.

Some of the members decided to head home Sunday evening, while others decided to stay till Monday morning. It was great fun for those who were able to attend. It is this kind of event that build camaraderie among members, so lets hope that next year, the third annual camp-out, will be even bigger and better.

SPORTS

The end of golf season is fast approaching and our last tournament is scheduled at Poppy State Golf Course in Aldergrove on August 25. The date and place for the awarding of prizes will be announced later.

While golf season is coming to an end, our inter area Basketball tournament is being organized. Teams are currently being formed, for more information please contact Henry Laxamana.

CELEBRATIONS

For the month of August we wish to greet the following members who are   celebrating their birthdays:
                            Elye Aguila
                            Julian Cordero
                            George Laxamana
                            Fel Macalino
                            Joe Magcalas
                            Joel Pante
                            Noli San Buenaventura
                            Ed Tiamzon
                            Richard Yeh

Association of Professional Engineers & Geoscientists of BC (APEGBC) Professional Certification Seminar For NAMA BC At Holiday Inn On June 27, 1996
by: Soolim Co

To uplift the professional standing and employability of its members, NAMA BC through the efforts of Dexter Tarampi, Vice President - Internal, and Soolim Co, Chairman - Accreditation Committee, sponsored a Professional Certification Seminar for all the interested members. The dinner seminar was held at the conference room of Holiday Inn, Lougheed Highway, on June 27. There were twenty attendees.

The invited speaker was Mr. Elvis Riou, Assistant Director of Registration - APEGBC. Mr.Riou touched on the topics of academic qualification and engineering experience requirements for registration as a Professional Engineer, and as a Limited Licensee of the APEGBC.

For academic qualification, Mr. Riou discussed the different criteria of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (CCPE), the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB), Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET), and Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA). Details of these various requirements are available from Dexter Tarampi as a supplementary handouts.

But in summary, the CEAB deals with the Canadian universities, and is of no relevance to Mapua Alumni. The ABET deals with the American engineering training program and is also of little consequence to our members. MRA deals with mutual recognition granted to graduates from Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and United Kingdom and therefore is not applicable to our members. CCPE is the umbrella organization of all the Canadian Provincial and Territorial Professional Engineering Associations. It evaluates and accredits the foreign country education system, and the particular university’s engineering degree program as to its acceptability to the Canadian Professional Engineering Associations.

For our alma mater to be listed as an approved engineering degree granting university, acceptable to the member organization of CCPE, Mapua has to formally apply with the CCPE for an evaluation and approval of its engineering degree program. This is not an easy task, but it is worth trying, since the reward would be invaluable for all the graduates of Mapua. The executive committee shall in one of its forth coming meetings discuss the strategy, financing, organization, and the ways and means to approach this very important task. Coordination with our alma mater will be required.

If ever Mapua is recognized as an approved foreign engineering degree granting institute, the graduates from Mapua applying for membership with the Association will then have to write two group A and one group B confirmatory exams. It should be noted that, any applicant that applies under the CCPE criteria and failed any of the confirmatory exams, will automatically be disallowed to use the CCPE route, and would instead have to write a more elaborate set of exams to be assigned by the APEGBC.

At this point in time, since Mapua is not listed as an accredited institute of CCPE, all the applicants will be assigned three group A, two group B and possibly two complementary studies exams and has to passed all the exams in order to complete the academic qualification.

After passing the academic requirements of the Association, the applicant will be required to submit an engineering experience report to substantiate his minimum of four years satisfactory engineering experience, with at least one year experience in North America. Minimum of four referees will be required to vouch for the engineering work experience, competence, and moral character of the applicant. Preferably two of the referees should be the immediate supervisor of the applicant.

If an applicant has more than ten years of SATISFACTORY experience, and can provide proof of those experience, the Association can waive the academic requirement, and a personal interview might be required before proceeding to the next stage of membership application processing. The definition of satisfactory experience is contained in handout distributed to all the attendees.

All applicants, Canadian or foreign graduates, have to pass a three hour professional practice and ethics exam covering topics in the Engineering Act, Association By-laws, Contracts, Professional Ethics, Builder's Lien, Patent, Trademark, Copyright, Industrial Design, Intergrated Circuit Topologies.

The limited license program was also discussed. A limited licence allows the licensee to practice engineering in a narrow and limited scope. The benefit of such a licence, is that it allows the limited licensee to sign drawings and reports in lieu of a Professional Engineer. Members of ASTTBC and foreign engineering graduates can be admitted as limited licensee provided they have accumulated eight years of specialized training and experience in the chosen field of expertise, and passed a COMPREHENSIVE job site interview.

Mr. Riou also distributed a number of sets of application forms for membership to APEGBC to the interested attendees. The seminar came to a fruitful conclusion, and Dexter presented to Mr. Riou an exquisite Parker Pen as a token of appreciation from the attendees. It was 10 PM when we bid good-bye and good night to Elvis and to one another.

NAMA of BC may sponsor a similar seminar to members interested in acquiring ASTTBC membership. One of our ASTTBC members will coordinate the organization of such a seminar when there are sufficient number of interested members for such seminar.

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