Engineering is a group of related professions upon which all other professions rely and in that sense it is unique.
Whilst these related engineering professions have different specialisations, they are all based on a number of fundamental principles such as strength of materials and the ability to withstand, react to or make use of natural forces.
The Society of Professional Engineers was founded in 1969 as an offshoot of the much older Society of Engineers. It was formed in order to provide a professional home for those engineers who have a sufficiently deep understanding of these fundamental principles that they are able to take an innovative approach to the problems which are faced by the human race in general and their clients in particular.
The Society also regards itself as the natural home of those engineers who may not yet have reached the standard of deep understanding of such principles but nevertheless, aspire to do so as their experience deepens. This is not to denigrate the skills of those who only aspire to be engineering technicians, because they too are essential to the well-being of the world in general and their knowledge and skills must form the basis of the training of all Professional Engineers.
WARNING
This is the only web site of the Society of Professional Engineers, which, although
it has reciprocal arrangements with other organisations both in the UK and overseas,
has no direct connections with such other organisations with apparently similar names,
particularly any in South Africa which many claim to have the same roots.
Since it was founded in 1969, the Society has had the inalienable right to grant
to all its members both in the UK and elsewhere, the right to use the post-nominal
letters PEng or PEng(UK). Of course anyone can describe themselves as a professional
engineer (all lowercase), but PEng means that the person using this description is
claiming to be a member of the Society of Professional Engineers, which is a body
registered as a company at Companies House. Anyone who is not a member but uses such
a description for commercial purposes is at risk of committing an offence under the
Theft Act, of “Obtaining Pecuniary Advantage by Deception”.
This is the name of the Society’s charitable arm which seeks to inspire young people
into choosing engineering as a career.
Click on the name to transfer to the charity’s separate website
Rodin’s statue “The Thinker” should be a symbol of inspiration for all Professional
Engineers because the one thing that distinguishes them from technicians is the requirement
to be able to think. Often the professional will be able to determine a problem before
the world or his or her client has even realised that a problem exists.The Professional
Engineer is able to take a wider view and produce a solution which provides for the
underlying need rather than what the client believes he wants.
The fundamental standards of all Professional Engineers also include those standards of all professional men and women which require that the needs of the public in general, and their clients in particular, must take precedence over their own personal or commercial interests.
The Society also has a charitable arm called “EXCITING ENGINEERING” whose aim is to encourage young people to study the basic scientific principles upon which all engineering is based and which therefore are essential subjects of study for the training of any engineer.
