The Australian Council of Engineering Deans Inc. (ACED) exists to promote and advance engineering education, research and scholarship on behalf of the Australian higher education system.
ACED's member universities are each represented by a senior staff member from its Engineering Faculty or School. These provide 'formative' and advanced engineering qualifications, research, and consultancy services. The formative Masters, Bachelor (Honours), Bachelor degrees, Associate Degrees and Advanced Diplomas, that are accredited by Engineers Australia, qualify their graduates to enter practice as professional engineers, engineering technologists and engineering associates.
In 2014, the ACED member Faculties and Schools graduated nearly 20,000 students, more than half with Bachelor and Bachelor (Honours) degrees.
ACED supports its members, and the development of Australian engineering more generally, by making submissions to government inquiries, and undertaking projects aimed at improving the quality of engineering courses and research. Many of these activities are undertaken as collaborations of ACED members, and with other organisations, including Engineers Australia, the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE), and the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE).