From 28 September to 2 October 2026, KIVI will host a review team from the International Professional Engineers Agreement (IPEA) here in the Netherlands. The team will assess KIVI’s registration system for Chartered Engineers (CE) and International Professional Engineers (IntPE). The review forms part of KIVI’s application to join the IPEA as a full member.

The visit marks the next step in the development of KIVI Chartership. KIVI’s Chartered Engineer programme already offers engineers a professional framework for registration and development throughout their careers. The programme also has an international dimension: KIVI collaborates with international organisations and, in 2023, signed an agreement with the UK’s Engineering Council for mutual recognition.

The IPEA application explores how this international recognition can be further expanded.

International recognition
Chartered Engineer is a professional registration through which engineers demonstrate their knowledge, experience and professional development. The scheme is not tied to a single employer or role, but focuses on the engineer’s development throughout their career.

International recognition makes it possible to ensure that this professional status is more widely recognised outside the Netherlands. This is important for engineers working internationally and for employers who deploy professionals on international projects, assignments and tenders.

IPEA is part of the International Engineering Alliance (IEA), a global partnership of organisations concerned with the international recognition and quality of engineering qualifications. Through IPEA, countries can reach agreements on the mutual recognition of professionally registered engineers.

KIVI is currently a provisional member of IPEA. The current application is aimed at full membership. This would further expand the existing international integration of the CE pathway.

Career-long development
An important component of Chartership is Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Registered engineers keep track of their professional development and, upon re-registration, demonstrate how they continue to develop.

This involves assessing various aspects of professional engineering, including knowledge, skills, leadership, communication and professional commitment. It offers engineers a structured way to make their development throughout their career visible and demonstrable.

The international IPEA accreditation ties in with this. It gives the existing system a broader international context and makes it more recognisable to engineers and employers in other countries.

International review
During the review, the international team assesses how the KIVI system works in practice. This involves examining, amongst other things, governance, the assessment of competences, the registration process and the way in which quality is monitored.

Preparations for this review have been underway for several years. Following a previous IPEA evaluation in 2018, various areas for improvement were addressed by KIVI Chartership, the Chartership Committee, the registrar and the KIVI office. Procedures and guidelines have been further developed, and the registration system and associated files have been updated.

In 2025 and 2026, a Washington Accord gap analysis and an Engineer Professional Competence mapping exercise were also carried out. In July 2026, the position paper *Towards the Chartered Engineer in the Netherlands* (IntPE) was finalised. Together with the existing procedures, these documents form the basis for the current application.

Next step
The review from 28 September to 2 October is a key milestone in the ongoing IPEA process. The review team’s evaluation report is expected to follow in January 2027. Thereafter, IPEA is expected to reach a decision on KIVI’s application in June 2027.

Successful admission as a full member would mean that KIVI’s existing international collaboration and recognition would be further expanded. KIVI would also become the first organisation on the European mainland to hold full IPEA membership.

For KIVI Chartership, the application therefore primarily signifies a further expansion of what already exists: a professional registration system for engineers, with international links and scope to demonstrate professional development throughout one’s entire career.

Lifelong Development
Lifelong Development is a key component of professional engineering. KIVI supports engineers in this regard throughout their careers, including via Engineer Careers and the Chartered Engineer pathway. The CE programme focuses on the demonstrable ongoing development of knowledge, skills and professional competences. The international IPEA accreditation ties in with this and gives this existing framework a broader international context.