On Sunday, the Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE) sent an email update to its members. It was quite a surprise because the email was in both Arabic and English. This is highly appreciated as a sign that SCE is reaching out to all engineers registered with the organization. Recently, SCE created an email address, [email protected], which is dedicated to receive feedback and suggestions from its members. In the first week after the new contact became available, SCE received more than 235 messages. SCE wrote that such a response, “indicates the keenness of the members in communicating with their organization and sharing their views." In Sunday's email, SCE put forward some of the answers to the questions they received from members.Q: Why doesn't SCE send messages in English, as the majority of its members do not understand Arabic? SCE: The Registration Form already has the option of selecting either English or Arabic for messages and notices. The activation of this feature is in progress. Q: To open an engineering office, the applicant is forced to be dedicated fulltime to that office and must not be working anywhere else. This is a big problem. SCE: The decision to enforce this condition was taken by the Board of Directors in its second term and was approved by the General Assembly. Although the termination of this condition was sought several times during the following General Assemblies, the move was never passed. Q: There is a need to organize events and programs in Madinah, Hail and the Northern region. Is there any plan to open branches to cover these areas? SCE: The Saudi Council of Engineers makes every effort to conduct events in all the regions where there is a large enough group of engineers. It was decided recently to open new branches to serve Yanbu, Al-Qassim, and Asir regions. Q: Why are there delays in issuing professional accreditation certificates and cards? SCE: All the certificates submitted to SCE for accreditation are subject to verification from the issuing authority through a specialized agency which contacts the university and confirms the genuineness of the certificate. The issuance of the certificates relies on this feedback. Q: Can SCE members get the papers and reports submitted to the conferences and seminars conducted by the SCE? SCE: It is agreed by the Training & Events Department at SCE to collect the papers, resolutions, and recommendations of future events. These will be uploaded to the SCE website as downloadable soft copies. Q: SCE's services to its members are very poor. Is there any plan to improve? SCE: Yes, a committee is being formed by the Board of Directors to address this issue, and to find solutions to serve its members in a better manner. Q: What are the financial benefits of the SCE Board Members, Secretary General and the key officials? SCE: The Board members are provided with travel tickets if they wanted to [sic]. The Secretary General and other employees are paid for their transportation, accommodation and allowances as per the labor rules in force at SCE.
