The Institution of Civil Engineers gets licence to operate in the UAE

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has received a trade licence to operate in the UAE.

The 200-year-old, UK-based organisation is one of the first professional bodies to achieve this status in the UAE.

Next week, at its Middle East and Africa convention at Dubai Knowledge Village, the institution hopes to sign an agreement with the UAE-based Society of Engineers.

The deal is designed to improve professional standards throughout the country and the region.

Currently in the UAE, individuals only need a bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline to call themselves an engineer rather than have to take technical exams or training, although most big engineering companies require further qualifications beyond a bachelor's degree.

"We have seen a tightening of regulations over the last few years as a result of construction industry incidents such as fires," said Mark Jamieson, ICE's UAE country representative. "This is not a wall-papering exercise to prevent something like what happened at Al Rayyana ever happening again. But by improving the way in which engineers operate it will help to mitigate the risks of such incidents happening."