The
2015 ICNDTGuide on
Education and Training
in NDT

March 2015

The
2015 ICNDTGuide on
Education and Training
in NDT
March 2015

©2015 ICNDT2

THE 2015 ICNDT GUIDE ON EDUCATION AND TRAINING
IN NDT

Contents
SECTION 1

FOREWORD...................................................................................................................................3

SECTION 2

BACKGROUND..............................................................................................................................4

SECTION 3

CLASSIFICATION OF NDT EDUCATION AND TRAINING BY LEVEL AND SCOPE

						

(INCLUDING EXAMPLES OF COURSES AT THESE VARIOUS LEVELS)...........................................4

SECTION 4

COMMENTARY ON DISCUSSIONS IN THE WORKSHOPS..........................................................12

SECTION 5

POSSIBLE ICNDT INITIATIVES......................................................................................................13

SECTION 6

REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................14

Appendix 1:

NDT Engineering...........................................................................................................................15

		

THE 2015 ICNDT GUIDE ON EDUCATION AND TRAINING
IN NDT

Section 1
Foreword by Chairman of ICNDTNon-Destructive Testing (NDT) is of great importance, ensuring the safety of the public. The knowledge andcompetence of those who specify NDT is an essential pre-requisite for the achievement of quality and reliability as
well as the competence of those who execute NDT and handle and respond to the results.
The ICNDT, with a track record of almost 60 years in international cooperation, has prepared this Guide to help
disseminate best practice in NDT education and training.
In accordance with its 2012 Strategic Plan, ICNDT, through its Working Group (WG2) on NDT Education andResearch, will promote regular workshops at major conferences. The first two of these, at the 20th QNDE meeting in
Baltimore (July 2013) and at the 14th Asia Pacific Conference in Mumbai (November 2013), have provided valuable
input to this issue of the Guide. We are grateful to the presenters at these workshops for allowing us to use andreference their material.
Mike Farley
Chairman, ICNDTICNDT will update this document periodically and will provide the latest version online via its website, www.icndt.org.
Users are strongly advised to check that they have the latest version of this document, any references, comments andsuggestions are welcome and should be sent to the ICNDT Secretariat.
Douglas Marshall
Chairman PGP3

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Section 2
Background
The prime purpose of this Guide – which has been prepared under the auspices of the International Committee for NonDestructive Testing (ICNDT) – is to promote best practice in the education and training of technicians and engineers
in NDT and essential related disciplines – both those who may be considered NDT specialists and other engineers
who should know about NDT. NDT specialists may be involved in the execution of NDT but also, increasingly andimportantly, in “NDT engineering” – upstream (before) and downstream (after) NDT operations (see Appendix 1).
The ICNDT Guide is of importance to all the tiers in the specification and implementation NDT operations –regulators, inspection bodies, certification bodies, industry, NDT service companies, engineers and supervisors of
NDT personnel.

Section 3
Classification of NDT education and training by level andscope
The following “classifications” are used in this Guide.
l A: NDT training (theory and practical) at Level 1, 2 and 3, prior to certification of NDT specialists, often in accordancewith the ISO syllabus TR25107 and or the similar ANSI/ASNT syllabus CP105l B: NDT awareness for practising Engineers (including Continuing Professional Development)l C: NDT awareness as part of Foundation/Associate/Bachelor degree level courses in Engineering, including NDTMinorl D: NDT Foundation/Associate/Bachelor level degree courses in NDTl E: NDT Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma level and Masters level courses in NDTl F: NDT courses taught as part of a PhD or Engineering Doctorate in NDTInformation on the wide variety of courses that are offered at classifications B to F was collected through twoworkshops, organised by ICNDT at the 20th QNDE meeting in Baltimore (July 2013) and at the 14th Asia PacificConference in Mumbai (November 2013). The programmes for the two workshops are given below in Tables 1 and 2.
The aim of the workshops was to share best practice around the world in NDT education, including undergraduate,
postgraduate, masters and doctoral levels and this was achieved. Links between graduate NDT education and precertification NDT training were also explored.

Table 1: Workshop organised by ICNDT at the 20th QNDE meeting in Baltimore(July 2013)
Speaker

Subject

Ref.

1

Mike Farley, Chairman ICNDT + Manfred
Johannes WG2Scene-setting

1

2

Matthew E. Gallagher and David J. Gilbert, The
British Institute of NDTAn Integrated Education Programme for NDT
Professionals

2

3Peter Cawley, Imperial College, UK

The Engineering Doctorate in NDE

3

THE 2015 ICNDT GUIDE ON EDUCATION AND TRAINING
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4

B. Boro Djordjevic, Materials and Sensors
Technologies, Inc., USA

NDE Education in the USA

45

K. Balasubramanian pp B. Venkatraman, Indira
INDE Education – Requirements, Status, andGandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, Gaps Indian Scenario
India

5

6

Bernd Koehler/Christian Boller, Fraunhofer
Institute of Nondestructive Testing (IZFP),
Germany

Double Degree Master Studies in NonDestructive Testing

6

7

Manfred Johannes, SAINT South Africa

The Need for “Non-Destructive Testing(NDT) for Engineers” as a Stepping Stone to
PostGraduate Studies in NDT in South Africa

78

Nicola Bowler, Iowa State University, Center for
NDE, USA

Iowa State University’s Undergraduate Minorand Online Graduate Certificate in NDE

89Mike Farley

Wrap-up and close

Table 2: Workshop organised by ICNDT at the 14th Asia Pacific Conference in
Mumbai (November 2013)
Speaker

Subject

Ref.

11.00 Mike Farley, Chairman ICNDT-11.20

Scene-setting

9

11.20 David Gilbert, BINDT and Prof Phil Picton,-11.40 The University of Northampton

Foundation degree in NDT linked topre-certification training

10

11.40 Prof Krishnan Balasubramanian-12.00 <balas@iitm.ac.in>

NDE Education in India

1112.00 Ray Morasse and Roger Engelbart, ASNT
-12.20NDE education in the USA – overview

12

12.20 Prof Nicola Bowler/Prof. Vinay Dayal,-12.30 Iowa State University, Center for NDE

Iowa State University’s Undergraduate Minorand Online Graduate Certificate in NDE

13

12.30 Dr Marc Kreutzbruck, pp Prof Christian Boller,-12.40 IZfP

Double Degree Master Studies in NonDestructive Testing14

14.00 Manfred Johannes, SAINT, South Africa-14.20

The Need for “Non-Destructive Testing(NDT) for Engineers” as a Stepping Stone to
PostGraduate Studies in NDT in South Africa

15

14.20 Patrick Brisset, IAEA
-14.40

IAEA progammes on NDT education and future
needs

16

14.40 Sajeesh Babu, ICNDT WG1-15.00Comparison of training syllabuses TR25107,
CP105 and TECDOC 628

1715.00 Alexander Mullin, ICNDT WG1-15.20Russian initiative on distance learning18

15.20 Dr. Nassir Ibrahim, Malaysia-15.30

Malaysian NDT Certification Scheme: Issues andChallenges

19

15.30 Dr B Venkataraman, IGGAR, India-15.40NDE Education in India – Requirements, Status
and Gaps

20

Examples of courses at these various classifications A to F are given below in Table 3, cross referenced to the presenter,from whom further information can be obtained.

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Table 3: Examples of NDT courses at classifications A to F
Speaker/Title

Classifications Detail extracted from the full presentation

Baltimore Workshop
NDE Education –Requirements, Status, andGaps Indian Scenario –K. Balasubramaniam and
B. Venkatraman, IndiaC

IIT Madras (two Graduate level courses and one Lab).
NITT (five/six Graduate level courses and four labs).
Anna University (NDT as elective in UG programme) inengineering branches (Mechanical, Metallurgy, Aeronautical, Civil).

E

NITT – MTech in NDT –15 students per year.
Postgraduate students in ME production engineering with one
year internship at industries like BHEL in NDT followed by Level 2
certification.
New NDE course initiated at SASTRA University at postgraduatelevel – such as Masters in Welding and NDE. Focus on theory infirst year and six months internship in industries and institutes,
leading to welding inspection certificate and Level 2 in selectmethods. Entry Level qualification BE and Masters in Physics.
Postgraduate Diploma in NDE being planned by universities andeducational institutions in association with ISNT. One year six
months course leading to degree and Level 2 certification in four
methods (RT, UT, PT and MT). Six months theory and one year
internship in industries.
#Entry level qualification – B.Sc

F

IIT Madras – MS and PHD in Engineering with NDE topic – 12
students per year on an average.
IISc, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur, IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Roper –PHD in Engineering with NDE topic.

The Engineering Doctorate
in NDE – Peter Cawley,
Imperial College, UK

F

Four-year postgraduate award for UK's leading research engineers
who aspire to senior positions in industry. Linked to UK RCNDE –the UK industry/University collaborative research centre.
Programme combines research, industrial experience, relevanttaught courses. Alternative to traditional PhD that is better suited toneeds of industry.
EngD highly effective means of technology transfer from RCNDE
research programmes into industry.
Taught Training Programme – Developed in consultation withindustry who requested combination of technical training (60-70%)
and professional development (30-40%).

THE 2015 ICNDT GUIDE ON EDUCATION AND TRAINING
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Double Degree Master
Studies in NonDestructive Testing– Bernd Koehler andChristian Boller,
Fraunhofer Institute of
Nondestructive Testing(IZFP), Germany

E

Iowa State University’s
Undergraduate Minorand Online Graduate
Certificate in NDE –Nicola Bowler, Iowa State
University, Center for
NDE, USAC

The Need for “NonDestructive Testing(NDT) for Engineers”
as a Stepping Stone to
PostGraduate Studies in
NDT in South Africa –Manfred Johannes, SAINTSouth Africa

B

University of Pretoria offers Engineering NDT CPD course. (CPD isa requirement for continued registration as a Professional engineer
in RSA).

An Integrated Education
Programme for NDT
Professionals – Matthew
E. Gallagher and David
J. Gilbert, The British
Institute of NDT

A and DFoundation and Bachelors Degrees at the University ofNorthampton with syllabus content encompassing ISO 9712
syllabus, fast track entry for existing certificated personnel, link toEngineering registration. There are currently around 200 students inthe distance learning degree programme.

NDE Education in the
USA – B. Boro Djordjevic,
Materials and Sensors
Technologies, Inc., USA

B, C, D, E,
and F

The author emphasises the importance of NDT education andtraining for engineers and is concerned at the lack of provision forthis training in the USA, except perhaps at Iowa State University.

A and D

See above.

DIU/IZfP; Distance learning NDT master course (started 2011).
German/English.
DIU/IZfP: Double degree Master Studies in NDT (scheduled for2014), Includes ): NDT Basic Course of DGZfP (a Gateway to
Certified Testing); and Research Internship at Fraunhofer IZFP.
Master thesis at partner University.
ISU NDE Minor: 16 credits, including a survey course, andindependent study with CNDE mentor.
Average of nine students/year in Iowa State.

E

ISU; Graduate Certificate in NDE offered online.
Thesis-based MS in NDE and coursework-only MEng in NDE are
under development.

Mumbai Workshop
Foundation degree in NDTlinked to pre-certification
training – Matt Gallagher
Director for Education &Professional Development,
David Gilbert, Deputy
CEO BINDT and Prof Phil
Picton, The University ofNorthampton

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THE 2015 ICNDT GUIDE ON EDUCATION AND TRAINING
IN NDTNDE Education inIndia – Prof Krishnan
BalasubramanianC

Courses Offered in NDT– IIT Madras (two Graduate level courses and one Lab).
– NITT (five/six Graduate level courses and four labs).
– Anna University (NDT as elective in UG programme) inengineering branches (Mechanical, Metallurgy, Aeronautical,
Civil).

D

Degree/Diploma Programmes– NITT – MTech in NDT –15 students per year.
– IIT Madras – MS and PHD in Engineering with NDE topic –12 students per year on an average.
– IISc, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur, IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur,
IIT Roper – PHD in Engineering with NDE topic.
– Postgraduate students in ME production engineering with one
year internship at industries like BHEL in NDT followed by
Level 2 certification.

E

New NDE course initiated at SASTRA University at postgraduatelevel – such as Masters in Welding and NDE. Focus on theory infirst year and six months internship in industries and institutes,
leading to welding inspection certificate and Level 2 in selectmethods.
# Entry level qualification BE and Masters in Physics.

F

Postgraduate Diploma in NDE being planned by universities andeducational institutions in association with ISNT. One year six
months course leading to degree and Level 2 certification in four
methods (RT, UT, PT and MT). Six months theory and one year
internship in industries.
#Entry level qualification – B.Sc

NDE Education in the USA– overview – Ray Morasse
and Roger Engelbart,
ASNT

A/B

NDT/NDE Educational Options in USA
l Vocational/Technical Schools.
l Two-year course of study open to young people leaving high		 school at age 18 leading to diploma or certificate.
l Course work focus on utilisation of methods & techniques.
l 26 such schools in USA offer NDT certificate programmes or
		 NDT courses related to other programmes such as welding.

		THE 2015 ICNDT GUIDE ON EDUCATION AND TRAINING
IN NDTDl Junior/Senior Colleges.
l
		
		
		
		

Junior colleges generally offer courses of study leading toassociate degree or bachelor’s degree (with transfer to seniorcollege) – 22 such colleges in USA offer associate degrees
in NDT, or NDT courses as part of another associate degree
or certificate programme.

l Senior colleges – 56 – offering bachelor, master and doctoral
		 degrees, or NDT courses in other degree and certificate		 programmes.
Al Some provide hands-on opportunities which may be		 accepted by many companies as on-the-job training hours.
l Programmes designed to help students understand direct		 relationships between underlying physics principles & testing		 techniques.
l Industrial/Corporate Programmes.
l These organisations offer professional training which		 generally include some form of certificate or diploma (final		 testing often similar to Level 1/Level 2 exams).

Iowa State University’s
Undergraduate Minorand Online Graduate
Certificate in NDE – Prof
Nicola Bowler/Prof.
Vinay Dayal Iowa State
University, Center for
NDE

See above.

(in absentia)
Double Degree Master
Studies in NonDestructive Testing – DrMark Kreutzbrucke pp
Prof Christian Boller
IZfP

E (including A) DIU/IZfP: Double degree Master Studies in NDT (scheduled for2014), Includes ): NDT Basic Course of DGZfP (a Gateway to
Certified Testing); and Research Internship at Fraunhofer IZFP.
Master thesis at partner University.

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The Need for “NonDestructive Testing(NDT) for Engineers”
as a Stepping Stone to
PostGraduate Studies in
NDT in South Africa –Manfred Johannes, SAINTSouth Africa

C to ESee above.
Post script Jan 2015: University of Pretoria now offer an NDTcourse for engineers who enrol for the Multi-disciplinary
Postgraduate Programme in Physical Asset Management. This
postgraduate programme consists of a course-based HonoursDegree followed by a research dissertation for a Masters. The
Honours Degree can be completed full-time over a one year
period, or on a part-time basis, typically over two-to-three years.
Completion of the Masters Degree dissertation normally requires
one year full-time, or two-to-three years part-time research. The
programme is structured to achieve specific objectives. Details canbe found at http://www.up.ac.za/caim. This NDT course falls into
the classification ‘C’ to ‘E’, as the student is introduced to the theory
of NDT and can, on successful completion of the course, opt to doa research dissertation.

IAEA progammes on NDT
education and futureneeds – Patrick Brisset,
IAEA

A

Miscellaneous education and training initiatives in developing
countries.

Comparison of training
syllabuses ISO TR25107,
ASNT CP105 and IAEATECDOC 628 – SajeeshBabu, member ICNDTWG1AThese syllabuses exist to define the topical content of precertification training in the ISO and ASNT systems at Levels 1, 2
and 3.

Russian initiative on
distance learning –Alexander Mullin,
Chairman ICNDT WG1

A/B

This is a radical new on-line training system in the Russian
language developed by the Russian Society for NDT for use precertification across the whole country.

Malaysian NDTCertification Scheme:
Issues and Challenges– Dr. Nassir Ibrahim,
Malaysia.

A

1. Pre-certification training is offered by training agencies
accredited by the Malaysian National Certifying Body by:
l Malaysia Nuclear Agency (RT, UT, MT, PT).
l SIRIM (UT and recently RT).
l RUANE-TATI (RT, UT, MT, PT).
l INTESTMAL (MT, PT).

CE

2. NDT for engineers:l University Technology of MARA(UiTM).
l As major subject for degree in B. Applied Science				 (School of Applied Science).
l Planning to provide MSc in NDT in 2014 (syllabus
				completed).

THE 2015 ICNDT GUIDE ON EDUCATION AND TRAINING
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Cl University Technology of Malaysia (UTM).
l B.Sc in Industrial Science (Dept. of Physics, Faculty of				Science).
l Beng (Mechanical Engineering Department).

Cl National University of Malaysia (UKM).
l As part of B.Sc in Material Science (Faculty Science				and Technology).

ECl International Islamic University of Malaysia (UIAM).
l As main subject in degree of M.Eng (Faculty of				Engineering).
l University Malaysia Perlis (UNIMAP).
l As part of B.Sc in Material Science .

Cl University Kuala Lumpur.
l As subject taught at MFI and MIAT.
l University Malaysia Pahang.
l As part of B.Sc in Industrial Science – good				 collaboration with industries.

NDE Education inIndia – Requirements,
Status and Gaps – Dr B
Venkataraman IGGAR,
India

See above – first item in Table 3.

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Section 4
Commentary on discussions in the workshops
The Q&A and discussion periods in the workshops highlighted the following:l We need more awareness of the significance and role of NDT by managers, decision makers and other engineers
who specify or use the results of NDT.
l Several countries including India and Malaysia reported that they have secured NDT modules incorporated within
other Engineering courses, as well as Masters degrees in NDT.
l In South Africa, (uniquely?) formal CPD training in NDT is available for engineers whose prime interest is asset
management.
l Excellent training materials in English are available on-line (for example NDT Resource Centre at www.nde-ed.org).
l It was suggested that “we need on-line educational courses in NDE with examinations by accredited/reputed
international universities.” In Russia this type of training is being provided in Russian through a new distancelearning scheme for NDT technicians. It would be interesting to know if this could also be structured to provide
NDT Awareness courses and CPD courses for engineers. Could similar structured awareness courses be set up
using the NDT Resource Centre materials?
l BINDT has established a new integrated programme for NDT professional development which incorporates
vocational training, work-based learning, personnel certification, academic awards, professional engineer
registration and ongoing learning provision.
l The UK Engineering Doctorate linked to the RCNDE model is seen as highly successful.
l Whilst in many countries pre-certification NDT training is handled largely by specialist courses provided in theprivate sector, in the USA much of this training is done in technical schools.
l The content of an NDT postgraduate (diploma, certificate or masters) course may provide:– Greater depth in the understanding of the physics of NDT, electronics, signal processing, data analysis etc
		and/or– greater knowledge of the disciplines which link to NDT and diagnostic technologies (upstream and downstream)		 for example design, structural integrity, materials properties, corrosion and topics such as risk-based inspection,
		 asset management, condition-based maintenance and life assessment.
l There was much discussion of NDT Engineering but no accepted definition.
l ASNT offers support for students, educators and instructors via:
– Mentor Programmes– Awards Programmes– Conference Participation & Support– Student Membership/Student Sections– High School Science Teachers’ Workshopl There are dilemmas for education establishments, industry and students because there is perhaps less career
certainty for the academic route than for the certificated route:– Educationist Dilemma?
		n Lack of any forecast or study on supply-demand.
		n No organised approach to placement/recruitment.
		n No formal involvement in NDE education programmes.

		THE 2015 ICNDT GUIDE ON EDUCATION AND TRAINING
IN NDT– Industry Dilemma?
		n Hire NDT Level 3 or		n NDT MS/PHD or
		n Hire BS or MS or PHD in Engineering and train as Level 3.
– Student’s Dilemma?
		n Job Market? Assured Job???
		n Work in research or industry or service job?

Section 5
Possible ICNDT initiatives
The workshops identified a number of possible initiatives which ICNDT might pursue:
1. Web links to available teaching resources for each level, for example
l NDT awareness for practising Engineers– Existing videos BINDT, ASNT, JSNDI,– NDT Resource Centre Powerpoint.
l NDT awareness as part of Bachelor level courses in Engineering, including NDT Minor– Existing videos BINDT, ASNT, JSNDI,– NDT Resource Centre Powerpoint– NDT Resource Centre course materials.
l NDT courses taught as part of a PhD or Engineering Doctorate– Need recommended reading lists for these levels– Need these courses to cover the Level 3 syllabus??
2. List recommended books for each level on ICNDT website.
3. Promote exemplars; for example University of Pretoria CPD course for Engineers, ISU NDT Minor, BINDTFoundation Degree…
4. Advertise courses being offered on the ICNDT website.
5. Develop model syllabuses for:l B: NDT awareness for practising Engineers (including CPD).
l C: NDT awareness as part of Foundation/Associate/Bachelor degree level courses in Engineering, including NDT		Minor.
l D: NDT Foundation/Associate/Bachelor level degree courses in NDT.
l E: NDT Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma level and Masters level courses in NDT.
l F: NDT courses taught as part of a PhD or Engineering Doctorate in NDT.
6. Develop distance learning tools for each of the above, taking advantage of the resources already available on-line.

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Section 6
References
Ref.

Link to Presentation

1

ICNDT QNDE Workshop on NDT Education.pptx

2

QNDE Tuesday\T0830a D.Gilbert.pptx

3

QNDE Tuesday\QNDE EngD Cawley.ppt

4

QNDE Tuesday\T0910c B.Djordjevic.pptx

5.QNDE Tuesday\930 Venkat.pptx

6

QNDE Tuesday\T0950a C.Boller.pptx

7

QNDE Tuesday\T0910f Johannes.pptx

8

QNDE Tuesday\Nicola Bowler QNDE education presentation 2013.pptx

9

Introduction ICNDT Workshop on NDT Education Farley.pptx

10Integrated Education Progamme D.Gilbert.pptx

11

NDE Education in India – Balasubramaniam.pptx

12

NDT Education Mumbai\Workshop Report\NDT Education in the USA Morasse + Englebart.pptx

13

Iowa State presentation 2013 Nicola Bowler.pptx.

14

DIU IZFP NDT Double Masters Kreutzbruck.pptx

15

Engineerng NDT – Manfred Johannes.pptx

16

IAEA NDT Activities APCNDT Brissett.ppt

17

Comparison of syllabuses - S K Babu.ppt

18

Distance Learning System for NDT personnel Mullin.pptx

19

NDT Education and Training in Malaysia Ibrahim.ppt

To locate the above presentations, please visit http://www.icndt.org/Documents/Document-Store		THE 2015 ICNDT GUIDE ON EDUCATION AND TRAINING
IN NDT

Appendix 1
NDT Engineering“NDT engineering” or “Engineering of NDT” covers all the activities linked to NDT upstream (before) and downstream(after) NDT operations. The following explanation of what constitutes “Engineering of NDT” appears in the 2012
version of ISO 9712 as Annex E. It is important in the context of recertification of NDT personnel who may work in
NDT engineering and thereby maintain continuity of experience.
Figure A1.1 Engineering of NDT (from ISO9712)

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Notes

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