In February 2017, the Institute released a new bespoke App specifically designed to help members with the burden of maintaining their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points in a simple, yet efficient fashion as well as announcing a change to an annual CPD year cycle. In June 2017, version two was launched with some aesthetic improvements.
Accessing the CPD App via the web
So, first of all, you need to be able to access or download the CPD App. For those who are traditional internet website users and prefer to use this version, the login panel can be found by clicking this link. Alternatively a new link “My CPD Program” is present on the IIMS membership details page, clicking on which re-directs the user to the new CPD Program Website. Or the CPD App can be accessed directly from the IIMS website home page.
Accessing the CPD app by Android or IOS
Android users who wish to download the App need to go to the “Google Play Store” and in the search box type IIMS CPD. The App has the IIMS logo, so will not be hard to identify. Click on INSTALL. Once installed, open the App. Log in using your IIMS credentials. Once logged in, click on the ellipses icon on top right, and select “Help”. This will redirect you to a HELP page. Read the document once and using the App should be self-explanatory. If you still need more help, please email IIMS for assistance.
IOS users who wish to download the App, need to go to “App Store”, click on the “Search” icon and in the search box type IIMS CPD. The app has the IIMS logo, so will not be hard to identify. Click on GET and then INSTALL. Once installed, open the App. Log in using your IIMS credentials. Once logged in, click on the ellipses icon on top right, and select “Help”. This will redirect you to a HELP page. Read the document once and using the app should be straightforward.
As notified to members from 1 January 2017 the IIMS CPD scheme became based on one single calendar year, in other words from January to December 2018 and so on. All CPD accounts were set to zero. A member’s aim is to acquire 15 CPD points each and every calendar years to keep them up to date. The activities for how a member can claim points have been amended, but it is the administration of how points are requested and managed that altered significantly by the introduction of the App. To see how easy it is to acquire points, the CPD points table can be viewed here.
Using the App
Each IIMS member has a unique log in, email address and existing associated password that is used to access the membership page on the IIMS web site and is used to access the App too. Members are encouraged to claim points in real time rather than saving up a claim for months. So for example, let’s say a member attended an IIMS training day yesterday. At the end of the event, or once home, the member can open the App to make a claim for 5 points for the training event that will be listed in the drop-down menu on “Claim CPD points”.
The claim is submitted. An automatic email comes back to the member to advise them that their points claim has been submitted and will be verified soon. At the same time, an email comes into IIMS advising the team that a member has claimed 5 points for attending the IIMS training day. A member of the IIMS team personally reviews each and every claim before deciding to accept or decline it. If necessary, you must provide supporting evidence via the App to support your claim or it may be declined. For example, let’s say a member attended a boat show (worth one point). The member took a photo of themselves at the event and attached it to the App as proof! Assuming the claim is verified and accepted, an email is automatically sent back to the member to inform them that 5 CPD points have been added to their CPD account and that they now only require 5 more points by 31 December of that year to make their annual quota. Members can check their CPD account themselves to see that the points have been allocated and added successfully. This process repeats each time a member makes a successful CPD points claim, with the number required counting down automatically. There is no limit to the number of points a member can claim in a year, but only 3 CPD points can be carried forward to the following year, which the App will automatically do. A member can send attachments to substantiate and prove their claims too if necessary.
Claims for the previous year are held open until 31 March of the current year to allow members to make a claim for the previous year before the window closes.
The reward for those who successfully claim their CPD points is a special commissioned CPD Compliant roundel, which will be applied to the IIMS web page listings of those members who qualify.
In recent weeks, IIMS has released two new handy guides in the series ‘What a Marine Surveyor needs to know about‘ bringing the total number of publications to twelve.
