Chartered Member Application Guidance
Chartered Member Application Guidance
(MIChemE)
application guidance
Led by members,
supporting members,
serving society
Introduction
This document contains information to help you with your application to Chartered Member (MIChemE) and the title
of Chartered Chemical Engineer, with emphasis on how to complete and submit your Competence and Commitment
(C&C) report.
All candidates applying to become a Chartered Member need to complete a C&C report. Once submitted, this report
is used to assess your professional experience in the practical application of chemical engineering against the minimum
required level for a Chartered Member (MIChemE). It also demonstrates that you’re committed to the profession and
your continuing development as an engineer.
We recognise the wide range of careers possible for graduate chemical engineers and the diversity of training and
experience they will have received by the time they are ready to apply for Chartered membership. The C&C report
is structured to allow all candidates to present examples that demonstrate a strong understanding and application of
chemical engineering practice.
Document control
Version no. Date issued Changes
V2.0 June 2019 General application information added including application process,
interviews, CV, plagiarism and referees.
V1.0 November 2018 Final published version
2
Contents
3
Part one:
Your application
When applying for Chartered membership you will be asked to provide the following:
1. Personal and current employment details: name, address, date of birth, current employer etc.
2. Academic details: degree certificate/s etc.
3. Experience: employer/job information in chronological order.
4. Referees: details of two referees who support your cpplication for Chartered membership.
5. Data protectoin: tell us about your communication preferences.
Referees
Two referees are needed to provide a reference in support of your Chartered Member application. Your referees must
be:
■■ a Chartered Member or Fellow of IChemE;
■■ willing to provide you with a reference;
■■ ready to respond to IChemE when contacted – ask their permission.
Your referees do not need to work with you, or be in the same organisation/country, but they should be sufficiently
familiar with your work and career to support your application. They should not be a family member.
We’ll contact your referees by email and ask them to complete a form which contains a small number of questions
such as:
■■ how long they’ve known you, and in what capacity;
■■ if you are employed in a responsible post in chemical engineering;
■■ whether they recommend your election to MIChemE.
Note: a third referee who is not a Chartered Member or Fellow can be included if you think it will benefit your
application - ie a current/recent line manager.
CV
The Competence and Commitment (C&C) report should be able to stand alone on its own merit, but your CV can be
used to help assessors to understand your background, provide a more detailed context of any projects referenced in
the C&C report, technical jargon, career progression etc.
You can also use your CV to provide additional clarification to examples in the C&C report eg scale of equipment and/
or project and its phase, any documentation you had to develop, meetings attended, details of processes, HAZOP
undertaken, how many people in your team for each task or project, specific role etc.
We strongly recommend that you prepare a tailored CV to support your Chartered application. Although similar to the
CV you would use for a job application, there are stylistic differences that we encourage you to consider:
■■ list your professional skills and background clearly and concisely;
■■ avoid business jargon - the assessor may not work in the same field as you;
■■ only mention the work you have completed - don’t include work done by others;
■■ write in the first person: “I wrote”, “I presented” etc;
■■ there’s no need to include a photograph or contact details. This information is already included in your application;
■■ the CV is not a refereed document and will not be assessed (however, it must be an accurate and true
representation of your career).
4
Also, activities outside of work should only include IChemE events, engineering, commercial or leadership activities.
For instance, being the captain of your local football team or having a cycling hobby are not relevant to your Chartered
membership application.
Interviews
Once your C&C report has been successfully assessed, your application will proceed to the interview stage. All
Chartered Member applications require a Professional Review Interview (PRI) based around the content of your C&C
report where the interviewers can determine the following:
■■ your C&C report is a true account of your professional experience;
■■ you have the required level of responsibility;
■■ your competence and commitment are adequate in all categories.
Two interviewers will be in attendance and sessions are often held virtually. Our membership team will send further
information about the interview – including preparation notes and suggestions to candidates at the appropriate time.
Your interviewers will submit an interview report in confidence to IChemE’s Professional Formation Forum (PFF) election
panel who will make the final decision about your election to Chartered membership
Note: in some circumstances a second Professional Review Interview may be requested by the interviewers, or by the
PFF, to further explore/discuss your professional experience. If this happens a different set of interviewers will be used.
5
Part two:
The C&C report
Report writing
Your Competence and Commitment (C&C) report will be assessed by Chartered Members and Fellows of IChemE who
volunteer their time to uphold the standards of IChemE and support the professional development of members.
Please complete your report in accordance with these guidelines and provide evidence from your professional practice
that you meet the requirements for Chartered membership. This will help IChemE to use the valuable time of volunteer
assessors effectively and to obtain a decision on your application as soon as possible.
If your report does not meet the requirements, or if the assessors require further information, you’ll have two chances to
make corrections and re-submit your report, after which your application will be closed and you’ll need to re-apply.
Things to consider:
■■ your report should be approximately 3,000 words in total (and no more than 20% over);
■■ make sure that your report accurately reflects your own experience;
■■ ensure that you can discuss the work described in yur report in further depth at interview.
Do:
■■ be concise across all sections using clear, correct English;
■■ minimise the use of acronyms (unless defined in full when first appearing in the report or in a glossary);
■■ show application of chemical engineering principles;
■■ show appreciation for, and specific application of health and safety principles, sustainability etc;
■■ provide evidence of problem solving (describe the problem, the action you took, and the outcome);
■■ write the report in first person singular so your role and actions are clear (“I did”, “I designed”, “my report…” etc);
■■ use active tense;
■■ check for consistency between your report and additional details in your CV;
■■ emphasise what you actually did for each example.
Don’t:
■■ plagiarise others’ work (ie from the internet, IChemE website examples, a colleague’s application);
■■ use more words than necessary;
■■ write the report in third person (singular or plural) so that your role and actions are unclear;
■■ write in the passive tense. “I was involved in...”, “I was told that…”;
■■ use words like “we” or “they”;
■■ supply insufficient chemical engineering related examples in Section A;
■■ exaggerate your role or importance in the task being described;
■■ provide limited evidence of problem solving (describe the problem, the action you took, and the outcome);
■■ spend time explaining the context of the example, thereby using valuable words that could be better spent
explaining what you did (CV can give the context if needed);
■■ talk in generalities (“I’ve been involved in many projects….”, “I have several examples…”) provide specific examples;
■■ expect the assessor to “read between the lines” and make assumptions about your experience and competence;
■■ forget to spell-check the application before submitting (it is good practice to prepare the full report in a word
processor document and when the report is fully ready to submit, cut and paste into the C&C report template).
6
Personal role
Within each section, you should identify the most appropriate examples from your own professional development that
best reflect your chemical engineering experience.
Be specific when describing your individual role in, and contribution to, a piece of work. The Chartered Chemical
Engineer title is awarded based on your own chemical engineering competence, and not on the success of a project or
organisation.
Responsibility
To become a Chartered Member, IChemE requires that candidates have reached the standards of competence and
commitment to the profession that can reasonably be expected for someone who has had a broad and good quality
experience, who is operating in a position of responsibility within chemical engineering and using chemical engineering
principles routinely in their day to day work.
The experience cited in your C&C report should demonstrate that you are professionally responsible for the
consequences of your technical judgements and decisions. It is understood that in your early career you will probably
be under close supervision, but as you prepare to apply for Chartered status there should be a progression towards
increased responsibility. You do not need management experience, but work activities showing some (or all) of the
following features suggest a suitable level of responsibility:
■■ you show a proactive approach and use your initiative;
■■ take ownership of an area of work or project;
■■ colleagues rely on your engineering judgement or advice on chemical engineering aspects;
■■ budgetary accountability.
Your C&C report should focus primarily on your career post-graduation, whether in industry or academia. However,
you may include appropriate evidence from an industrial placement, or skills and experience gained in long term
employment during your undergraduate studies, if it involved a professional level of responsibility and provides the best
example for that specific question.
Depth
Ensure that you provide adequate technical detail in sections A–C. Consider the following model with indications of
how much to write for each:
■■ context – provide brief detail about the circumstances of the work you are describing (~20%);
■■ action – detail the actions you took (~60%);
■■ result – describe the outcomes, whether successful or otherwise, or still pending (~20%).
Breadth
Through the examples that you provide in sections A–C, you should show that that you have had a broad range of
experience.
7
The table below covers what IChemE believes to be a comprehensive overview of the varied technical areas of chemical
engineering practice. These apply to both industrial and academic environments and include practical applications
within postgraduate study.
As long as you can demonstrate that you are applying chemical engineering principles and can provide evidence
appropriate to each section, the IChemE assessment process is designed to value and assess your experience on equal
merit - whatever your particular career path.
Within your C&C report, we would expect you to match your experience across four to six of these areas:
Technical/economic
Instrumentation & control Quality & assurance evaluation
Confidentiality
Use the C&C report to demonstrate to IChemE that your individual competence meets the minimum level expected of a
Chartered Chemical Engineer. The assessors need to understand the technical aspects of your work and the engineering
challenges involved. You should be specific about what you did, but you’re not required to disclose confidential
information contrary to your employer’s confidentiality policy. For example, you can remove specific projects’ details
with client names and refer to them as “client A” etc. Remember to do likewise in the CV too.
Note that all the assessors and interviewers are bound by the IChemE Code of Conduct and the Data Protection Act
2018.
8
Number/type of examples per section
You should provide a sufficient number of examples that will demonstrate the depth and breadth of your technical and
professional experience.
For each sub-section, we recommend that you provide one in-depth example, with a second (or even a third) example
to show application in different instances to demonstrate the breadth of your experience. Make sure to consider the
word count when adding examples to ensure you don’t overrun the limit.
Practical application
Relevant theory
Responsibility
Technical depth
Spelling/typos
Verification
9
C&C report - section
breakdown
Section A: application of knowledge
Provide evidence of your ability to apply knowledge and understanding of engineering or science to practical chemical
engineering situations.
The examples provided must involve the use of chemical engineering principles and knowledge. Having an awareness
of methodologies, the use of standard formulae or data entry into standard spreadsheets of other models, without an
apparent understanding of the underlying chemical engineering principles, does not demonstrate adequate experience.
Examples of chemical engineering principles include, but are not limited to:
■■ laws of conservation;
■■ chemical thermodynamics;
■■ mathematical modelling;
■■ economic evaluation;
■■ understanding of process technologies;
■■ understanding of underlying chemistry;
■■ systemic approach to safety and sustainability in process design;
■■ systemic approach to the analysis of systems.
10
You might write:
I was responsible for coordinating information from geologists and petrophysicists that allowed me to develop a cost
effective and optimised well design...
Aiii. Creativity and innovation: developing your own ideas to produce new solutions, designs and
technological approaches
How do you go about making improvements/modifications in your work? Innovation is relevant at any level providing
you are advancing either a process or equipment in some way, be it reducing cost, improving efficiency, increasing
safety aspects etc. You are not expected to be registering your own patents or inventing new formulae. Refer to specific
outputs of your work, for example; preparation of front-end design documents, material and energy balances, process
flow diagrams (PFD), outline equipment specifications.
Examples:
■■ developing new commercial standard design software for gas absorption processes;
■■ developing new materials for artificial organs;
■■ commercialising a novel consumer washing powder at production scale;
■■ recommending and installing advanced process control to improve plant performance.
Aiv. Scientific or technical evaluation and optimisation (of product, process, equipment, method,
project etc against the requirements you identified, or the brief you were given)
How do you ensure your solutions are safe and feasible before you implement them? If you have had access to data
from a processing operation, explain in this section how the materials being processed behave in practice.
Examples:
■■ corrosion testing of column packing material;
■■ carrying out sludge dewatering trials to select the most appropriate processes;
■■ evaluating alternative control schemes for a pasteuriser using a simulation system;
■■ assessment of the effect of a raw material quality on plant performance.
Av. Planning and execution of projects: organising or performing technical work to implement or
validate solutions, designs etc.
How do you contribute to the delivery of projects? Ideally, a few years into your career you should look to lead on
a small project to gain experience of working on every stage, eg from planning and research, to development and
implementation to manufacture or marketing and sales etc.
In this section you will likely need to consider commercial aspects.
11
Examples:
■■ devising changeover procedures to convert to new control hardware;
■■ commissioning an acid plant conversion section and comparison with designs;
■■ programming and supervising the erection of a new clean room manufacturing facility;
■■ managing the development of piping & instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) for new projects.
Section B: evidence that you can handle the wider implications of your work as
an engineer
Demonstrate your awareness of the safety, environmental and commercial implications of your work. Developing
awareness does not mean that you need expert experience working as a safety engineer, environmental consultant or
project manager – these issues should be inherent in the work of any chemical engineer.
Bi. Ability to handle health, hazard and safety aspects: to apply appropriate principles, good
practice, meet legislative requirements etc.
Give direct examples that describe your contribution to ensuring safety and health in process operations (which may
include laboratories). This section is a critical requirement for successful application for Chartered Chemical Engineer
status.
In particular, you need to show experience of systematically evaluating either a new design or an existing process to
identify, evaluate and address process hazards. The process could either be at pilot scale or full scale.
Examples:
■■ attendance of, or contribution to, any kind of process hazard analysis review meeting (eg HAZOP, HAZID, HACCP,
“What if...” etc);
■■ management of hazards eg risk assessment, LOPA/SIL assessment;
■■ identification of overpressure scenarios and the subsequent design of pressure relief systems;
■■ training in the correct application of safety principles and procedures in any practical situation (on an operating site,
in construction, in a laboratory etc);
■■ completion of safety awareness training (including behavioural safety);
■■ understanding of HSE legislation (eg H&S at Work Act, COMAH, COSSH or other local country legislation);
■■ construction and operating plant safety regulations – permit to work system, handling of hazardous materials, safety
risk assessments etc;
■■ specific design activities – vent dispersion analysis, explosion modelling, hazardous/flammable emission detection
systems etc;
■■ auditing safety compliance of a pilot plant used for teaching in a university;
■■ designing or evaluating pressure relief, emergency flare and fire-fighting systems;
■■ carrying out an investigation into a boiler explosion.
13
Section C: interpersonal, leadership & communication skills
Convey how you effectively communicate and work with professionals at all levels. How do you ensure your colleagues
know what you are doing and how do you gather information on issues concerning you?
Ciii. Communicating ideas and plans by report writing and oral presentation
The ability to present ideas, facts and experiences in a clear and concise manner is an important aspect of being a
professionally qualified engineer. You should give evidence here of presenting technical data orally and writing reports
14
10
about your findings. Work completed for a PhD, EngD or other academic research may be relevant. This needs to be
over and above what would be considered as standard tasks in your current role, so examples of doing something in
addition to what you are normally expected to do/produce are required here.
Examples:
■■ writing a user requirement specification (URS) for a control system;
■■ delivering a presentation to peers/supervisors;
■■ preparing/presenting a technical paper, report or seminar (eg at an event or conference);
■■ writing screen displays for an acid plan conversion to computer control;
■■ provision of technical guidelines to assist in product selection;
■■ presenting alternative design options to senior management;
■■ supporting a sales presentation.
15
Dii. Ethical decision making
Give direct examples which illustrate your personal and ethical commitment of working to professional standards laid
out by IChemE, your company or organisation, and of the wider community.
You may wish to consider:
■■ the IChemE Code of Ethics and the Statement of Ethical Principles; how this impacts on your behaviour and
influences your decision making;
■■ issues of confidentiality;
■■ avoiding conflict of interest;
■■ knowledge and application of company codes of conduct/standards/behaviours/values.
Briefly describe the methods and tools you use to Give an explanation of how and where you maintain your
record your CPD activities. record of CPD activities undertaken. You should also
indicate what types of activity you record and what other
information you record. See IChemE’s website for more
information: www.icheme.org/career/cpd
Describe the significant CPD activities you have For each activity listed, describe the purpose/
carried out in the last 12 months. objective of carrying it out and the benefits you
gained from it.
Provide a list of the significant CPD activities you have For each item listed in the adjacent column, please give a
undertaken in the last 12 months. These would normally brief description of the purpose/objective that lay behind
include activities from the broad range of CPD activity the activity being performed, and what key benefits you
types (training courses, work based (on the job), academ- gained by carrying it out.
ic learning, volunteering, events/seminars and self-study
etc).
16
Eii. Future CPD Plan
Briefly describe the method and approach/tools Give a brief outline of the process/steps you follow
that you use to identify your CPD development to create your CPD objectives. You should include as
objectives, and how they are turned into an appropriate (a) how your CPD needs are identified and
actionable plan. prioritised, (b) how and with whom they are agreed (if
required), and (c) how those objectives are then turned
into a plan which can be put into action. This process will
vary depending on your own personal circumstances and
may refer to your employer’s annual development review
process and tools. Where appropriate, links to longer-
term career plans should be included.
Describe the development objectives that you For each objective listed, describe what activities
have identified to be addressed in the next 12-18 you plan to carry out to achieve them and the
months and the purpose of each one. expected timescale.
Give a brief description of the key development objec- For each objective in the adjacent column, please provide
tives that you have identified for the next 12-18 months, brief details of the activities you will undertake to com-
and why those particular ones were chosen. plete each one and give an indicative timescale for each
objective.
Consider your technical development, as well as your broader professional skills. Show that you are proactive in seeking
development opportunities and specify the time scale involved and the intended outcome(s).
IChemE does not issue guidance on the specific CPD members should undertake. This should be driven by the most
appropriate development for the role, sector and career stage.
17
Methods of CPD include:
■■ external courses including distance learning;
■■ in company training/in-house courses;
■■ work-based learning, eg codes observed, conflicts resolved;
■■ shadowing;
■■ preparation and delivery of lectures and presentations;
■■ research/publishing;
■■ attendance at lectures, seminars, conferences, webinars;
■■ secondment and special projects;
■■ moving department;
■■ moving sector;
■■ coaching, tutoring, monitoring, teaching;
■■ self-directed private study;
■■ relevant voluntary work.
More information about continuing professional development including IChemE’s CPD Policy and revalidation
requirements for membership grades and professional registrations can be found at www.icheme.org/cpd
Verification
As part of the application and assessment process, we require that the experience cited in your C&C report is verified
as a true account by another individual(s). A verifier’s role differs from the referees’ - your referees are supporting your
application to Chartered membership as a whole, whereas your verifier is confirming the experience cited in your C&C
report. However, the same person can act as both verifier and referee providing they fulfil the requirements for each
role.
The person(s) verifying your experience should have been:
■■ in a senior position to you at the time of the work referenced; and
■■ familiar with the work you were doing at the time.
If one person can vouch for all of the training and experience cited in your C&C report, please ask them to sign the end
of your report and provide their professional qualifications (if relevant) and their relationship to you. If more than one
person is required to verify, you should ask them to indicate in the relevant boxes, which sections they attest on your
behalf, and sign as before. We will also accept electronic verification if your verifier cannot sign the report in person.
18
If more than 20% of your report cannot be verified, please send a covering letter explaining why. For example, if you
have lost contact with the individual concerned. Please expect this section to be discussed more thoroughly in your
interview.
Additional Information
Plagiarism
IChemE’s plagiarism policy applies to existing members of all grades, and where applicable, to those in the process of
applying to become members. It supports sections 3bx and 3bxv of the Code of Conduct that require members to reject
bribery and other corrupt practices, and to be mindful of the integrity expected of members of the Institution in their
personal conduct.
For further details visit www.icheme.org/plagiarism
Further guidance
Examples of report sections can be found at www.icheme.org/chartered
If you have any questions or need further information contact [email protected]
19
Led by members, supporting members,
serving society
Australia
t: +61 (0)3 9642 4494
e: [email protected]
Malaysia
t: +603 2283 1381
e: [email protected]
New Zealand
t: +64 (4)473 4398
e: [email protected]
Singapore
t: +65 6250 0385
e: [email protected]
www.icheme.org
Incorporated by Royal Charter 1957. The Institution of Chemical Engineers (trading as IChemE) is a registered charity in England and
Wales (214379) and Scotland (SC039661). The Institution also has associated entities in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.
LC 0083_19