Academia Panamericana de Ingeniería
Academia Pan-Americana de Engenharia
Pan American Academy of Engineering
ACTIVITIES 2003
The epistolary activity of the Presidency of the Academy registers 475 letters mostly sent by electronic mail (PA 634 - PA 1109). The themes that most attention demanded were: Receiving, ordering, sending and discussing different modifications to the By Laws, Link with the Association of Engineers of Uruguay (AIU), the National Academy of Engineering, Universities and Engineering Faculties. Agreements with UPADI and AIU to program the Montevideo meetings simultaneously but without overlaps with the International Board of UPADI on October 8, 9 and 10, 2003. Official invitations to the Speakers of the Forum on "Accreditation in the Regional Context" that had been previously individualized and committed to participate by the Coordinator Dr. Robert Kersten, Special invitations to Engineering Deans and Engineering Leaders from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia and Venezuela, Preparation, discussion and adoption of the Terms of Reference to develop the Main Theme. Dealings for the financing of the Forum with Hewlett-Packard University Relations and obtaining of an important support of US$ 10.000, Identification of companies and experts to provide simultaneous translation services and administrative support for the Forum, hiring of rooms in ALADI.
In all these matters Academician Eng. Alberto Ponce and his daughter Eng. Norma Ponce played an outstanding role. A trip of the President to Montevideo allowed the signature of the contracts for lodging, rent of meeting rooms and sound equipment and projection, simultaneous translation and administrative personnel.
Forum Accreditation in the Regional Context
The Latin American Integration Association ALADI has in its headquarters if Montevideo several rooms and an auditorium for meetings. In the Pink Room the meetings of the Forum Accreditation in the Regional Context were held with the presentations made by guest Experts and the deliberations that allowed agreement on the "Montevideo Declaration" published at the end of this article.
The Opening Session of the Forum started at 2.30 p.m. on Thursday October 9. At the Presidium were seated the Minister of Transport and Public Services of Uruguay Eng. Lucio Caceres Behrens, the Presidents of UPADI, Eng. Claudio A. Dall'Acqua , and of WFEO Dr. Jose Medem Sanjuan, of AIU Eng. Eduardo Alvarez Mazza. After an introduction with the presentation of the Terms of Reference and the Program made by the Coordinator Dr. Kersten, followed the presentation of the Speakers and Rapporteurs. The opening speeches were made by Engineers Alvarez Mazza (AIU) and Yadarola (Academy).
The first part of the Forum was dedicated to the Key Note Speakers: Dr. Jose Medem Sanjuan, President of WFEO, Dr. George Peterson, Executive Director of ABET and Eng. Lucio Caceres Behrens, Minister of Transport and Public Services of Uruguay.
The themes broached by the Speakers on the afternoon of the 9 th were:
• Dr. Lueny Morell - Hewlett Packard - Birth of a Culture of Change through the Evaluation-Accreditation Process.
• Eng . Jerry Yeargan Past President of ABET - USA. Fernando Ocampo President of CACEI - Mexico, Eng. Deborah Wolfe Director CCPE - Canada. Initiatives for Accreditation in the Continent (I). Cooperation and Assistance between National Agencies.
• Eng . Roberto Gomez Guirado President of CONFEDI - Argentina - Lic. Jose Revelo Revelo Executive Director CNA, Colombia. Initiatives for Accreditation in the Continent (II).
• Dr . Clement Imbert Secretary General, Council of Caribbean Engineering Organizations (CCEO) - West Indies. Caribbean Engineering Accreditation in a Regional Context.
The meetings continued on the morning of October 10 with the following speakers:
• Eng. Marcelo Sobrevila , Asociación Iberoamericana de Enseñanza de Ingeniería - Argentina. Perspectives for the Accreditation in the Ibero American Context.
• Dr. Miguel Angel Romero Ogawa , ITESM - Monterrey, México. Accreditation from the Point of View of the University.
• Dr. Luiz Scavarda - Pontific Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro - Brazil. Global approach to the Quality in Engineering Services. International Competitivity.
• Eng. Henrique Brandao Cavalcanti Member of API, Brazil. Eng. Domingo Martín Gandolfo Committee in Engineering, Mercosur - Argentina. Free Trade and Accreditation Treaties: NAFTA and MERCOSUR.
• Dr. Russel C. Jones , Member of API - USA. Construction of capabilities for the Development of Regional Schemes.
• Dr. David Reyes-Guerra , Member of API, El Salvador, Past Executive Director ABET. International Standards for a Global Market. Role of the NGOs, UNESCO, OAS, OMC.
• Eng. Claudio Dall'Acqua , President of UPADI, Dr. Eng. Jose Medem , President WFEO. Role of Engineering Organizations.
The Reportership of the meeting and the preparation of conclusions in a draft Declaration was in charge of Academicians Vladimir Yackovlev and Ernesto G. Bendinger.
The Declaration was widely debated and agreed upon by the participants. It is a key document in the public action of the Academy that commits the Corporation and its Members in the search of international agreements that allow improving the educational quality of the Educational Engineering Institutions in the Continent in order to promote larger competitivity for engineering products and services that our countries offer.
The select public that participated in the Forum, 65 persons, was made up by Deans, Professors, Officers and Managers of Engineering Associations from Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.
The President of the Academy, in his closing speech thanked the Speakers, the Rapporteurs and Moderators for their valuable work stressing on the Coordinator Dr. Robert Kersten and the financial support received from one of the most important international companies, leader in computer technology like Hewlett-Packard.
Solemn Ceremony of Incorporation of Members elected in 2002
Four Candidates to Charter Member that could not join in Tegucigalpa 2002 were received as Members of the Academy in a brilliant ceremony with the presence of a large public that participated simultaneously in the International Board of UPADI and in several technical meetings. Each of the members presented an interesting document related to their specialty and area of activity that highlighted the Ceremony that was held on Wednesday October 8 at 6 p.m. in one of the meeting rooms of the Sheraton Hotel of Montevideo.
At the Presidium were seated the Presidents of the Academy, of WFEO, of UPADI and of the AIU. The President of UPADI offered the main speech in which he exalted the role of engineering in the Americas for the promotion of development. The members of the Presidium gave the new Academicians their Diploma and Medallion accrediting their membership.
The members incorporated were:
Argentina: Eng. Raul Antonio Lopardo
Brazil: Eng. Antonio Helio Guerra Vieira
Eng. William Paulo Maciel
Colombia: Eng. Alfonso Orduz Duarte
After the Ceremony the Academy together with UPADI offered all those present a Cocktail.
Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors
Among the many matters included in the Agenda, the following are worth pointing out:
• Distribution of Academicians by country. The By Laws establish (Art. 8) that the maximum number of Charter Members is 175 and not more than 30 should be citizens or natives from one same country considering that at all times there must be a balanced distribution . on the basis of parameters to be established by the Board of Directors.
Three proposals were analyzed: Torres Parra: according to the IGP of each country, Yadarola: polynomic formula with four variables; Kersten according to the number of inhabitants with a minimum of three per country. This last criterion was accepted and can be found in the Link "Members by country" in this Web Site.
• Modifications to the By Laws. The modifications proposed were analyzed by the Rivas Mijares-Torres Parra commission complemented and enriched by contributions from several Academicians and it was agreed that the new text should be sent to all Charter Members with a request to make a final analysis to be considered at the Plenary Extraordinary Session in Mexico.
• New Forum in Mexico. The interest shown by the participants in the Montevideo Forum to continue with the theme of Accreditation, prompted the Board of Directors to have a new Forum with the theme "International Practice of Engineers" as a way of complementing what was debated in Montevideo.
A Program Committee was appointed: V. Yackovlev - D. Reyes Guerra - F. Rivera, G. Jimenez Escobar with the coordination of the President of the Academy. It is planned to hold a working meeting of this Committee in the first months of 2004 and that President Yadarola will travel to Mexico to agree with the Organizing Committee of UPADI 2004 all the details for the program and organization of the Forum.
The epistolary activity of the President was intense during the latter part of 2003 and the first months of 2004 centered on the following matters: Diffusion of the "Montevideo Declaration" among all the Institutions and persons that were invited or informed about this Forum and pre-announcement of the new meeting in Mexico. Summons to nominate Candidates to Charter and Corresponding Members to: Member Organizations of UPADI, Member Organizations of WFEO and National Academies belonging to CAETS and Euro-CASE. Coordination with UPADI and UMAI for the program of the Academy meetings in Mexico.
WFEO distinguished the President of the Academy
During the General Assembly held in Tunis between October 13 and 17, 2003, the World Federation of Engineering Organizations - WFEO - distinguished Eng. Yadarola granting him the Outstanding Services Medal - in merit of distinguished achievements in the service of engineering. The medal was presented by the President of WFEO Dr. Jose Medem Sanjuan and received in representation of Eng. Yadarola, engaged at the time with the meetings in Montevideo, by the Past President of the world Organization, Argentine Eng. Conrado Ernesto Bauer.
Thus WFEO acknowledged Eng. Yadarola's dedication to his continued work for over a quarter of a century - 26 years in different relevant positions: Member of the Committee on Education and Training from 1977 to 1989 and President of the Committee from 1989 to 1997. National Member of the Executive Council of WFEO during two periods: 1985-1989 and 1997-2001.
Eng. Yadarola received the Medal in his city in Argentina, from the President of the Argentine Federation of Engineers Associations Eng. Roberto Echarte during the Annual Assembly held in Córdoba on 7 and 8 November, 2003. The photograph pictures the act.
Founder Academician occupies two important positions
Founder Academician, Dr. Russel C. Jones, was appointed by the International Board of UPADI to preside as from 2004, the Committee on Engineering Education, the oldest of all the UPADI Committees. Its creation as a permanent working body goes back to 1956, as a result of a proposal that the Round Table on Education submitted at the UPADI Convention in Mexico that year. The first presidency, 1956-1966 was entrusted to Dr. Ralph Morgan from USA and in the following years the presidents were Enrique D'Etigny, Vladimir Yackovlev, Miguel A. Yadarola and Carlos Santana.
Dr. Jones shall receive the cooperation, during this new stage with headquarters in the USA, of outstanding experts in different areas of the formation of engineers.
The opening meeting of the new Committee on Education, shall be held on the occasion of the XXII Pan American Congress on Engineering Education to be held in September 2004 during the XXIX UPADI Convention in Mexico.
Prof. Jones also received another important assignment, this time from the General Assembly of WFEO that met in Tunis where it was decided to create another Permanent Committee that will work in the area of Capacity Building, in close cooperation with the accredited UNESCO teams to plan actions in this sensitive area.
