The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) is the primary professional society for systems engineers. There is an active INCOSE Wasatch Chapter that typically meets the second Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm. The locations of the meetings typically change every month. INCOSE leads a variety of initiatives, hosts conferences and helps assign Systems Engineering standards. INCOSE is a great organization and the SIME faculty encourage individuals to become INCOSE members. Several SIME faculty chose to save money and have the 5 year membership. Many companies will pay INCOSE's annual dues.
Besides membership, INCOSE offers three certifications for systems engineers. Individuals can become Associate Systems Engineering Professionals (ASEP), Certified Systems Engineering Professionals (CSEP) and Expert Systems Engineering Professional (ESEP). For each certification, INCOSE has an application process and a fee. To become certified the person must be an INCOSE member and also pass a systems engineering knowledge based exam or earn an INCOSE equivalency through coursework at an approved institution such as the U. The ASEP requires no systems engineering experience. The CSEP requires evidence of successful work as a systems engineer for several years, and the ESEP requires substantial work and at least 20 years as a systems engineer. There are only 4 ESEPs in Utah.
INCOSE and The U
The U's Systems Engineering program has established a strong working relationship with INCOSE. Foremost the U is a member of INCOSE's Corporate Advisory Board. Additionally, the U has an approved INCOSE Equivalency coursework sequence. Students earning a B+ or betther in both SIME 5400/6400 - ME EN 5160/6160 Fundamentals of Systems Engineering and SIME 5410/6410 - ME EN 5170/6170 Systems Integration and Integration and fill out the departmental form will be awarded the INCOSE Equivalency and are not required to take the INCOSE knowledge exam to become an ASEP or CSEP.
In the Fall and Spring semesters the U hosts the INCOSE Wasatch Chapter meeting. The meeting typically has over 20 students attending live and an additional 10 students joining over zoom. Students gain valuable knowledge about work as a systems engineer. The majority of INCOSE members have openings in their companies and some informal conversations have helped studnets get excellent offers, which has helped the companies.
The faculty are involved with INCOSE. Dr. Maier is an INCOSE Fellow. Dr. Huebner is the Secretary of the INCOSE Wasatch Chapter. Questions about the chapter should be directed to Dr. Huebner.