The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) awarded the first recipients of the designation of Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP) in February 2005 during their annual workshop in Tampa, Florida. The Professional Certification Program was established in March 2004 to provide a formal method for recognizing the knowledge and experience of systems engineers. Since then forty-two persons from around the world have been recognized for their systems engineering competence. The CSEP has been awarded to systems engineers from Australia, Korea, Scandinavia and North America.

“I applaud those professionals who have taken this step to show their commitment to test and maintain their systems engineering competence,” said Heinz Stoewer, President of the INCOSE. “We hope they are soon joined by others with the same dedication to their profession and careers. Furthermore, we encourage organizations to consider the CSEP as a factor when selecting systems engineers for assignments.”

The certification is based on the professional and academic background of the candidate who must also pass a certification exam. Professional competence is validated by a minimum of three references, who must confirm the experience and recommend the applicant for certification. The designation is valid for three years and is renewable in three- year intervals.

INCOSE continues to make strides in offering an online application process and is backed by Thomson Prometric, an organization that offers services in computer-based testing for academic services, corporate testing, and information technology certification. “With testing organizations worldwide, Thomson Prometric offers us the coverage we need as a professional society with members on six continents,” according to Chair of the CSEP Program, Ken Kepchar. “The committee is hard at work to make the review and approval process as efficient and customer-friendly as possible.”

The CSEP Program is open to the public since 1 March, 2005. For more information on the program and how to apply visit http://www.incose.org/educationcareers/certification/.

The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) is an international professional society for systems engineers. INCOSE (www.incose.org) was founded in 1990 to develop, and disseminate the interdisciplinary principles and practices that enable the realization of successful systems. Today there are over 5,000 members, 50 chartered chapters, and more than 40 Corporate Advisory Board organizations from government, industry, and academia worldwide.

Thomson Prometric (www.prometric.com) is the global leader in technology-enabled testing and assessment services for academic, professional, government, corporate and information technology markets. Thomson Prometric delivers standardized tests for 300 clients, in 26 languages, over the Web or through a global network of testing centers in 134 countries. Based in Baltimore, Md., Thomson Prometric employs 3,000 people worldwide.