Introduction to IESL B Paper

Shavindranath Fernando
Past President
 WHO IS AN ENGINEER ?
An engineer is a professional practitioner of
engineering, concerned with applying scientific
knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to
develop solutions for technical problems.
Engineers design materials, structures, machines
and systems while considering the limitations
imposed by practicality, safety and cost. The
word engineer is derived from the Latin root
ingenium, meaning "cleverness".
 Engineers are grounded in applied sciences,
and their work in research and development is
distinct from the basic research focus of
scientists. The work of engineers forms the
link between scientific discoveries and the
applications that meet the needs of society.
 Therefore the central focus of the engineering
profession is the application of scientific knowledge
to meet societal needs.
On the other hand Engineers may pursue creative efforts
without involving analytical skills, and one may apply
analytical skills without entering the domain of creativity.
 For example, as engineers apply commercial
software to the solution of an engineering
problem, the application of analytical skills,
per se, may involve little or no creativity.
On the other hand an Engineer may design an
ergonomic office space with little analytical
skills.
Hence Let us now look at Engineering from
these perspectives.
Three aspects of Engineering
 Three aspects of Engineering
Sector A: represents the intersection of purely
analytical talents with the engineering domain. This
may be used to represent engineering science, an
ability to model complex systems and predict their
response to various inputs under various
conditions. This segment of engineering has, of
course, been the subject of intense development over
the last half century and has benefitted most directly
from the availability of fast digital computers.
.
 Three aspects of Engineering
Sector C: The intersection of our creative capacity
with the engineering domain, can be viewed as
representing those sudden intuitive leaps often
responsible for revolutionary advances in technology
called "significant novelty" as well as those aspects of
engineering, not yet fully supported by engineering
science, that remain more art than science
 Three aspects of Engineering
Sector B : (the intersection of knowledge and need
with both creative and analytical capability) can be
used to represent engineering design and much "real
world" problem solving. This sector includes activities
ranging from developing innovative products and
processes, to creating an innovative bridge design, to
developing a new control process for petrochemical
production.
 What about the other sectors in the
above figure represent?
Sector 1: the intersection of analytical skills with societal
needs outside the bounds of scientific knowledge might
include economics and philosophy.
Sector 3: may encompass the arts.
Sector 2: may be used to represent those societal needs
outside the bounds of scientific knowledge that required both
analytical and creative skills, perhaps including public policy,
business administration, and music.
Engineers Can not ignore the above very real
issues in the society !!
Engineers are creative problem solvers
 What does the Accreditation Board
of USA say
The Accreditation Board for Engineering and
Technology (ABET) of USA identifies engineering as
"that profession in which knowledge of the
mathematical and natural sciences gained by study,
experience, and practice is applied with judgment
to develop ways to utilize, economically, the
materials and forces of nature "for the benefit of
mankind"
What Does the International Professional
Engineers Agreement say
Engineer , Engineering Technologist and Engineering Technician
 WHAT DO WE NEED OUR ENGINEERS TO BE ?
LISTEN with an Open mind and SPEAK-UP, when
required - always in a talking mood, does not ration
words but speak sense!
WRITE WELL: Clear and logical writing, in whatever
they write. Fiercely careful about accuracy.
GOOD MANNERS: Courteous, well mannered.
DRESS WELL: Be smartly dressed to suit the
occasion.
READ WELL: Such a lot of media, news channels,
Journals, Technical reports
WORK HARD
Are you ready to face the challenge?
 Are you ready to face the challenge?

Face The Challenge Confidently thinking

If I cant Who Can

and After winning be humble enough to say

If I can who cant
 Professional Review Examination
IESL tests the candidates on:
(i) professional experience and
(ii) knowledge on general issues faced by engineers
and the society they work in
Comprise of :
a) Viva- voce an oral examination (shorten form viva)
simply means an interview aimed at assessing ones
knowledge.
b) A paper which is prepared specifically to examine
the candidate on his specific experience and
c) B paper aimed at testing the candidates
knowledge on engineers role in society and general
affairs
 What do we examine at IESL B Paper
In Engineering Council (UK) Examination there is a
specific subject called Engineer in Society
We at IESL call it B Paper and we test the knowledge
on general issues faced by engineers and the society
they work in
But we have a syllabus which is very wide and relate
to day to day issues we as Engineers face in society.
How many have looked at it?
Have you gone through some of the lectures done
last year?
Are you aware of the structure of the B Paper?
Have you gone through the pass papers and
attempted to do them. What about kuppi???
Paper B The Structure and emphasis Communication Skills, Code
of Conduct and awareness of events taking place in the Society
1. Written Paper B would be of 03 hours duration and will consist of two Sections. Section I will
be on Engineering Ethics and Code of Conduct whilst Section II will be on topics based on issues
taking place in society, both local and foreign, and in other spheres other than engineering that
has direct impact on the society.

2. Out of the questions in Section II, half of the questions will be on topics of general nature
where specific knowledge about the area subjected to the question is not necessarily required
to answer them. Candidates are usually asked to analyse, express opinions, comment, giving
views, elaborate etc. on certain issues taking place in the society. A candidate who is generally
sensitive to what is taking place around him and who can form his opinion about them should
be able to answer these questions without difficulty.
The other half of questions will be based on specific pre-identified areas.

3. Candidates are required to answer four (04) questions; selecting one (01) from Section I and
three (03) from section II. Candidates can select any mix of questions irrespective of the type
in Section II.

4. Each question will carry 25 marks and the pass mark for the paper will be 50.
 IESL will be testing you on...
1. Communication skills - The art of communicating clearly, concisely and
intelligibly in English. The art of structuring an answer, the beginning, the
body and the conclusion, presentation and the flow, transition from one
point to another, proper use of paragraphs, writing grammatically correct
English, spellings, writing answers to the point etc.

2. Ethics and Code of Conduct. (Refer IESL publications on the subject).

3. Issues affecting the Society Social, Economic Political factors, Gender

Issues, behavioral sciences, National Development, Industry, Commerce,
Role and responsibility of engineers as a member of the society and as a
professional, public perception of engineers, strengths , opportunities and
threats to the profession, role of the civil society, environmental issues,
emerging technologies, International affairs, Governments national policy
and Sri Lankan economy, major infrastructure projects taking place and
planned for future etc.

4. Also listen to the lectures on specific topics arranged by IESL from time to
time and in this series of lectures and last few years on which few questions
will be directly based upon.
WHY DO STUDENTS FAIL IN THE
B PAPER ?
THE REAL REASON:
STUDENTS DO NOT WORK HARD AND
PREPARE ADEQUATELY, TO MEET THE
REQUIREMENTS (as you did in the
school, university, IESL examinations)
- they do not read technical literature,
national news papers, international
journals or simply not interested in
topics other than their own area of
specialisation???)
 Problems faced by candidates:
The problems faced by candidates and their
weaknesses have been identified to be the
following:
(i) poor reading habits,
(ii) lack of knowledge of common affairs, especially
politics, economics, social issues,
(iii) inability to correctly understand the question
(iv) inability to structure a response to a question,
(v) inability to write clearly and concisely,
(vi) problems with the English language
To overcome these problems series of
lectures are conducted about three months
before the PR examination

IESL hopes that this series of lectures and

interaction with eminent resource persons
will help candidates to overcome their
weaknesses before the examination, and
enable them to face the paper with a greater
degree of confidence.
IESL will do its part; What do you have to do
Attend these Lectures as much as possible, if you
miss it look them up in the web site.
Read articles of national interest especially on
engineering related issues and issues that impact the
national economy, International relations,
environment etc.
Attempt the pass papers and write answers to those
questions and check with the resource persons if they
would like to give a feed back on your answers I will
most certainly do so on my subject areas.
If you are not quite competent in English Please
follow an English course. English is not our mother
tongue.
Topics of General Nature
Let us Look at these Awful
Pictures
Who is responsible for those???
Electrical Short Circuit caused this Fire
1100 lives were lost in Dhaka in 2013
Looks Funny Therte was a joke in one our
news papers
Can we afford to laugh at others???
 If Technologists and Technicians try
to do the job of Engineers this may
happen
But are we prepared to face the challenge. Can
we confidently say that we Engineers in Sri
Lanka will not let this happen?

Can IESL assure that our Charted Engineers are

in a position to avoid this kind of disasters.
The answer is in your hand
 How about your General Knowledge Shall we
have a quiz?
What is CEPA
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
What is NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
GATT
General Agreement on Trade and Tariff
SAPTA
South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement
SAFTA
Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Agreement
 Some unsavory statistics Are you
prepared to Improve it!!!
Year and March Septembe March Septembe March Septembe
exam 2013 r 2013 2014 r 2014 2015 r 2015

Total
applied 534 565 775 801 911 835
Total
Candidate
s who sat
the Exam 426 461 623 650 716 644
Total
Candidate
s who
Passed 198 210 354 347 398 408
Percentag
e Passed 46 46 57 53 56 63
How Many exams have you faced ? But Unfortunately
these things happen. Can you assure us that this will
not happen this time anyway you have no choice
IESL has decided not to tolerate this anymore
1. To write the correct question number. Otherwise it goes
to the wrong examiner for marking.
2. To write the correct Index number in all pages.
3. There are cases who do not write the Index Number at
all.
4. To write the correct question numbers to which they
have answered. Some do not fill this page.
5. Proper hand writing. Very difficult to read. There were
instances where the examiner has given zero marks since they
could not read the writing.
6. Read the Instruction clearly before start writing. Some
answer 5 questions. Some answer both questions in Section 1
 Theme and Coverage Resource
Examiner
Person

1 Introduction to B Paper: Coverage of the Eng.

paper, structure of the paper, resource Shavindranath
persons, proposed reading material, how Fernando
applicants should prepare themselves to
answer the paper, common problems faced by
students, how to correct the weaknesses,
general reading material.

2
Code of Ethics:Key elements in the Eng.Russel De Eng Russel De
IESLAct,Code of Conduct andBy Laws. Zilwa Zilwa

3 Engineer in Society:Social sciences: Moral Eng. Proboda Eng. Proboda

conduct, professional integrity, gender issues, Jinasena Jinasena
poverty and poverty alleviation, mechanisms
and institutions that address social issues in
Sri Lanka, shortcomings.
4 Science and Environment: (i) Sciences: Prof. W L Prof. (Ms) N
Recent key findings/headline research Sumathipala Ratnayeka
projects in pure sciences (physics, chemistry, and
biology), astronomy (ii) Environment: Key Mrs.
topics in the current debate on global RamaniEllepola
environment (global warming, ozone
depletion), and international protocols and
projects/actions (Kyoto protocol, carbon
trading, other voluntary mechanisms), national
environment of Sri Lanka, key environmental
issues, environmental laws and regulations,
IEE/EIA process in Sri Lanka, environmental
license, forestry, fauna and flora, coastal and
marine resources.
5 Government, National Policy and the Dr. Saman Dr TLGunaruwan
Economy: (i) Government: A brief political Kelegama
history of Sri Lanka, forms of government,
pros and cons of different models (ii) National
policy of Sri Lanka: How national policies
should be structured, introduction to policy
documents available in Sri Lanka (iii)
Economy and Trade: Economic policies, fiscal
policy, economic growth, structural changes in
the economy, disparities in growth/GDP
among provinces, balance of payments, public
spending, managing the budget deficit,
managing the exchange rate, trade deficit,
international debt, comparison of
closed/open/hybrid economic policies, Sri
Lankas trade relationships with the world and
introduction to GSP, SAFTA, CEPA, and
similar active or proposed agreements. (iv)
International trade: Role of WTO, key features
of GATT
6 International Affairs: (i) World Politics: Recent Mr. Nihal Rodrigo Mr Nihal Rodrigo
political changes in the world, current and long-
running conflicts, super powers, colonialism (ii) The
UN charter and UN system: history, role of UN,
various agencies of the UN, (iii) Disarmament:
Initiatives, nuclear non-proliferation treaty,
exceptions, history of world wars.

7 Physical and urban Infrastructure: (i)Irrigation and Eng. Eng.

water supply: History of irrigation, major tanks, reservoirs WimalasenaGamage WimalasenaGamage
and canals, key beneficiaries, agricultural development, And And
water supply and drainage, key challenges faced by the Eng. Gunathilake Eng Gunathilake
population and service providers (ii) Roads and highways: Bandara Bandara
National highways and road network, planned expressway
network, key problems of access and mobility, and how
they can be solved, maintenance of roads, problems and
solutions, (iii) Transportation: Road and rail transportation
facilities in Sri Lanka, public Vs private modes of transport,
private sector investment and operation of public
transportation facilities, congestion, (iv) Urban
development: Urbanization, migration to cities, importance
of urban planning, current problems with urban services in
Sri Lanka and possible solutions.
8 Emerging Technologies: Progress in various Eng. Ranil Eng Ranil
disciplines, Nano technology, current research Senaratne Senaratne
and achievements, Sri Lankas initiatives.

9 Quality Assurance: (i) Quality standards: BS, Eng Sunanda Eng Sunanda
ISO, IEC, VDE and other similar internationally Fernando Fernando
recognized standards, how the international
system of standards operate, mandatory vs
optional standards, (ii) Sri Lanka Standards:
Overall policy, standards and procedure to
establish standards, role of SLSI, testing and
enforcement, legal framework.
10 Infrastructure (Energy): Electricity and petroleum sector Eng.SamithaMidigas Eng. Shavindra
history, institutions and their roles, key issues faced by the pe Fernando
sector and sector institutions, costs of energy, renewable &
energy potential and limitations, prospects for oil and gas in Eng. E M Piyasena
Sri Lanka, planned development in electricity and petroleum Eng. Tilak de Silva
infrastructure, regulatory institution(s).
Infrastructure (Telecom and IT): Sri Lankas fixed and
mobile network, backbone infrastructure, modes of
international communications, new generation of mobile Eng. Tilak de Silva
telephony, costs and pricing of network usage, IT
infrastructure, facilities to remote areas, home ownership of
IT facilities, telecom and IT regulatory institutions.

11 Management, behavioral & Social Sciences:

Management: Leadership, motivating employees, decision-
making, how to conduct a meeting, conflict resolution,
negotiations, strategies to reach a consensus.

12 Let us make sense when we talk and write: (i) Speaking: Eng. Shavindra
planning a presentation, content, delivery (ii) Writing: Clear Fernando
and concise writing, how to structure a response to a
question, common mistakes.