Terms and conditions of membership

Regulations on the terms and conditions of membership of Al-Kindi Society of Engineers.

Membership Applications

1. The Al-Kindi Society of Engineers welcomes applications from people who have an interest in engineering and technology and who are aged 16 years or over.

2. There are five categories of member:

Honorary Fellow
Fellow
Member
Associate (Affiliate)
Student.

3. Submitting a membership application for a specific category does not guarantee membership of this category.

4. The Al-Kindi Society reserves the right to refuse any application for membership.

Code of Ethics and Rules of Conduct

5. All members undertake to abide by the Rules of Conduct and the Code of Ethics adopted by the Al-Kindi Society.

Honorary Fellows

6. Honorary Fellows are elected by the Al-Kindi Society of Engineers’ Management Committee. Honorary Fellows are:

Persons distinguished by their work in any engineering discipline falling within the objects and purposes of the Al-Kindi Society, or
Distinguished persons whom the Al-Kindi Society desires to honour for services rendered to the Al-Kindi Society or whose association is of benefit to the Al-Kindi Society.

7. Honorary Fellows shall be entitled to use the designatory letters HonFKSE (Honorary Fellow of the Al-Kindi Society of Engineers).

Fellows

8. Fellows will have demonstrated significant individual responsibility, sustained achievement, and professionalism in areas relevant to the interests of the Al-Kindi Society to a level required by the Board. Fellows are entitled to use the designatory letters FKSE (Fellow of the Al-Kindi Society of Engineers).

Members

9. Members will have achieved a standard of knowledge, understanding and experience, as required by the Board. Members shall be entitled to use the designatory letters MKSE (Member of the Al-Kindi Society of Engineers). Members are expected to hold a bachelor degree in Engineering or allied sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Maths, IT, Computer Science, Environmental Science).

Associates (Affiliates)

10. Associates are those who value involvement with the Al-Kindi Society of Engineers but do not meet the requirements for admission as a Member.

Students

11. Student membership is for individuals working towards a career in science, engineering, or technology whether at university, or on an apprenticeship scheme, or otherwise. Post graduate students are not included in this category as they fulfil the requirement for admission as a Member.

Designatory Letters

12. Members of the Al-Kindi Society of Engineers in the categories Member, Fellow and Honorary Fellow may use the designatory providing they continue to be members and pay their annual membership subscription fees.

Membership transfers

13. A member may transfer from their membership category at any time during their membership as long as they meet the criteria of the membership category applied for.

Membership subscription

14. Membership subscriptions run for a period of one year payable annually in advance. The Al-Kindi Society operates a system of anniversary billing so a member’s subscription renewal date is determined by the month in which they joined. The Al-Kindi Society does not offer a facility for members to pay by instalments.

15. Membership fees are revised annually, and members will be notified of the fee changes in writing via their subscription renewal notice email. The membership fees are also published on the Al-Kindi website and these are updated to include the following year’s fees to coincide with the delivery of the January renewal notices.

16. Membership subscription payments not received within three months of the due date will result in the membership being considered lapsed and all services will be suspended including any right to designatory letters or to be included in the register of professional members.

Reduced fees

17. Reduced rates and discounts on subscription fees are available to members in special circumstances. Full details can be obtained by contacting the secretariat team. The Al-Kindi Society has the right to request proof of eligibility.

Membership resignation

18. Persons in any category of membership may resign from the Al-Kindi Society by sending their resignation in writing to the Board.

19. The subscription will be refunded if notification of resignation is received within 90 days of the membership subscription start date. The refund will be made by the following means:

If payment was made by credit or debit card, the refund will be paid directly to the credit or debit card within 30 days of notification of the resignation being received.
If payment was made by Direct Debit or Bankers Automated Clearance Service (BACS), the refund will be paid directly to the bank account from which payment was taken within 30 days of notification of the resignation being received.
If payment was made by PayPal transfer, the refund will be paid directly to the PayPal account from which payment was taken within 30 days of notification of the resignation being received.
If payment was made by any other means the refund will be made by bank transfer or via PayPal within 30 days of notification of the resignation being received. Refunds by means of cash payments will not possible.

Applications to re-join

20. If a member resigns or allows their membership to lapse and then wishes to re-join, their subscription renewal date will be set as follows:

If the re-join date is three months of the subscription renewal date the renewal date will remain unchanged. The re-join fee would be the amount owing for the last renewal.

If the re-join date is more than three months after the subscription renewal date, the renewal date will be reset and the membership subscription will be due for renewal one year from the date the re-join payment was processed.

21. If a registered member resigns or allows their membership to lapse they must re-join within three years to maintain their status as a member with the Al-Kindi Society of Engineers. If the period of non-membership is more than three years the member will have to re-apply for membership and may be required to present their eligibility evidence again.

Refunds for overpayments

25. Refunds for overpayments above £5 will be made automatically within 28 days of the payment being processed.

26. Refunds for overpayments below £5 or its equivalent will be made if requested within 90 days of the overpayment being processed. Refunds will not be repaid automatically due to the disproportionate processing costs and will be treated as a donation to the Al-Kindi Society of Engineers.

Refunds for deceased members

27. Refunds will be paid if the decease of a member takes place within three calendar months of the subscription renewal date. The amount of the refund will be the full amount paid. Claims for a refund can be made up to a maximum of one year after the original payment subscription renewal date. If original payment was made by Direct Debit or credit/debit card then the refund will be made to the bank account/card. For other payment methods and instances where the bank account or card has been closed then a cheque will be issued and made payable to the Estate of the deceased. To make a payment via a method other than those described above we would require an original copy of the Grant of Representation by which the executor/administrator was appointed. Account details into which the refund should be repaid must also be provided.

Exclusions

28. No refund will be granted if the member has gained financial benefit from their membership such as receiving discounted conference fees or publications.

Complaints Procedure

29. The Al-Kindi Society of Engineers aims to serve its members effectively and fairly and member feedback is important. In the event of a complaint or grievance then members are advised to contact the secretariat team by email to info@alkindisociety.org

30. Where possible the issue will be dealt with immediately. If further investigation is required, then a response will be provided within five working days. If it is not possible to resolve the problem within that time, advice will be given on how long the investigations are likely to take.

31. The Al-Kindi Society of Engineers reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions at any time.

List of acceptable disciplines

The Al-Kindi Society of Engineers in the UK is a professional organization that brings together engineers and technologists from diverse backgrounds, particularly those with Arabic and Middle Eastern heritage. It aims to foster professional development, networking, and knowledge-sharing among engineers in the UK while supporting the contribution of members to the broader engineering community.

Similar to other professional learned societies in the UK, the Al-Kindi Society of Engineers also embraces a wide variety of engineering disciplines, along with related scientific fields that complement engineering practice. Membership with the Al-Kindi Society is available to professionals from several fields where engineering and technology play a key role, promoting the integration of allied sciences to address real-world problems. Al-Kindi Society of Engineers relies on the ECUK and BCS for such disciplines to determine its memebership eligibility.

Engineering Council (ECUK) Recognised Engineering Disciplines

The Engineering Council (ECUK) accredits a wide range of engineering disciplines. These fields are recognized as part of the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC). Below is a list of engineering disciplines that are typically accepted for Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Incorporated Engineer (IEng) status by the Engineering Council.

1. Aerospace Engineering

Aerodynamics and Aircraft Design
Aerospace Systems Engineering
Avionics and Flight Control Systems
Satellite Systems

2. Agricultural Engineering

Agricultural Systems and Equipment
Environmental Engineering in Agriculture
Precision Agriculture
Irrigation and Drainage Engineering

3. Chemical Engineering

Process Engineering and Design
Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering
Petrochemical Engineering
Environmental Chemical Engineering

4. Civil Engineering

Structural Engineering
Geotechnical Engineering
Water Resources Engineering
Transport Engineering (Roads, Rail, Airports)
Environmental Engineering

5. Electrical Engineering

Power Generation and Distribution
Electrical Machine Design
Electrical Control Systems
Power Electronics and Power Systems

6. Electronics Engineering

Circuit Design and Electronics
Digital and Analog Electronics
Communication Systems
Power Electronics
RF and Microwave Engineering
Semiconductor Devices and Microelectronics

7. Environmental Engineering

Pollution Control Systems
Waste and Water Treatment
Environmental Impact and Sustainability
Renewable Energy Engineering (Wind, Solar, etc.)

8. Geotechnical Engineering

Soil Mechanics and Foundations
Rock Mechanics and Tunneling
Groundwater Engineering
Geotechnical Site Investigation

9. Industrial Engineering

Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Operations Research and Industrial Systems
Supply Chain Engineering
Human Factors Engineering
Quality and Reliability Engineering

10. Marine Engineering

Ship Design and Construction
Marine Power Systems
Offshore Engineering (Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy)
Maritime Safety Engineering

11. Materials Engineering

Materials Science and Metallurgy
Nanotechnology
Polymer Engineering
Composite Materials Engineering

12. Mechanical Engineering

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer
Fluid Mechanics
Manufacturing Processes
Robotics and Mechatronics
Structural Mechanics

13. Mining Engineering

Mineral Processing
Mining Operations and Safety
Mine Design
Environmental Management in Mining

14. Nuclear Engineering

Nuclear Power Generation
Nuclear Safety and Waste Management
Radiation Protection and Detection

15. Petroleum Engineering

Reservoir Engineering
Drilling and Production Engineering
Petrochemical Engineering
Offshore Engineering

16. Renewable Energy Engineering

Solar Power and Solar Thermal Systems
Wind Energy
Energy Storage Systems
Smart Grids and Energy Efficiency

17. Software Engineering

Software Architecture
Embedded Systems
Mobile and Web Application Development
Software Design and Development
Algorithm Development and Data Structures

18. Systems Engineering

Systems Integration
Control Systems Engineering
Requirements Engineering and Validation
Risk Management and Safety Engineering
Project Management in Engineering

British Computer Society (BCS) Recognized Fields

The British Computer Society (BCS) accredits qualifications and professional practice in Information Technology (IT) and computer science disciplines. Many BCS recognized fields overlap with engineering roles, especially those related to electrical, software, and systems engineering.

1. Software Engineering

Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)
Software Design, Coding, and Testing
Agile and DevOps Practices
Mobile Application Development
Cloud Computing Solutions
Software Quality Assurance and Maintenance

2. Information Systems Engineering

Systems Analysis and Design
IT Infrastructure Management
Business Systems Integration
Database Systems and Management
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Information Systems Security

3. Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Engineering and Risk Management
Cryptography and Data Protection
Network Security and Firewalls
Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing
Digital Forensics and Incident Response
Malware Analysis and Prevention

4. Data Science and Analytics

Data Modeling and Data Warehousing
Big Data Technologies (Hadoop, Spark)
Data Mining and Machine Learning
Business Intelligence (BI) Systems
Predictive Analytics and Statistical Modelling

5. Network Engineering

Computer Networking
IP Networks and Routing Protocols
Wireless Communication and Networking (Wi-Fi, 5G)
Cloud Networking and SD-WAN
Internet of Things (IoT) Networking
Network Security and Performance Management

6. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Neural Networks and Deep Learning
AI-based Automation and Robotics
Computer Vision
AI Algorithms and Data Analytics

7. Cloud Computing

Cloud Architecture and Deployment
Cloud Infrastructure (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
Cloud Security and Compliance
Serverless Computing
Cloud-based Databases and Storage Solutions

8. Business and IT Strategy

IT Project Management and Governance
IT Consultancy
Digital Transformation Strategies
IT Strategy and Business Alignment
Agile Project Management (Scrum, Kanban)

9. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

User Experience (UX) Design
Usability Testing
Interaction Design and Prototyping
User-Centered Design (UCD)

10. Web Development

Front-end Development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
Back-end Development (Database, Server, APIs)
Full-stack Development
Web Security and Performance
Web Frameworks (React, Angular, Django)

11. Mobile Computing and Applications

Mobile Operating Systems (iOS, Android)
Mobile App Development (Swift, Kotlin)
Mobile Security
Mobile Cloud Integration

12. Embedded Systems

Microcontroller and Microprocessor Design
Embedded Software and Firmware Development
Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS)
IoT and Sensor Networks
Wearable Technology Development

13. Game Development

Video Game Design and Programming
Game Engines (Unity, Unreal Engine)
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
Interactive Game Design

14. Computational Science

Computational Modelling and Simulation
High-Performance Computing (HPC)
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Scientific Computing and Numerical Analysis

15. IT Support and Technical Services

IT Service Management (ITIL)
Helpdesk and Technical Support
IT Infrastructure and Hardware Management
Systems Administration (Linux, Windows, Network)