THE Jamaica Institution of Engineers (JIE) will this week focus on proper engineering standards at its annual conference and exhibition at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.

Engineer's Week 2012 — which will be declared open today by Robert Pickersgill, minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change — will focus on a number of technical areas, including "Natural Hazards/Disaster Risk Management" at a session tomorrow and "Engineering Standards for Integrated Development" from September 18 to 19.

University of Technology students will also show their mettle at bridge building on September 18, 2012, when teams will compete using sticks and glue. What's more, the JIE in association with the Caribbean Accreditation Council for Engineering and Technology (CACET) on September 20 will present "Engineering Degrees - Meeting the Criteria for Acceptability".

JIE President Omar Sweeney said that the conference will have a number of distinguished presenters from the JIE, the Professional Engineers Registration Board, the University of the West Indies, University of Technology, the Bureau of Standards Jamaica, the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy & Mining and several other local and overseas universities and institutions, and private companies.

Sweeney said that the Engineer's Week exhibition which is open to public viewing September 17 to 20, will be the perfect complement to the conference, "showcasing the best of the engineering industry and the contributions we are making to Jamaica and the wider Caribbean."

In keeping with Jamaica's celebration of its 50th anniversary of Independence this year, Sweeney said that a special feature will be the "Best Engineering Project since Independence (Jamaica 50th) Award".

Projects designed, implemented and commissioned after independence and which remain operational beyond August 6, 2012, are eligible for nomination and the winning project will be selected via online voting at the JIE website, and announced at the JIE annual awards dinner on November 24, 2012.

Sweeney said that "the objective of the competition is to recognize significant engineering design and construction projects that have helped to shape Jamaica's development over the past 50 years."