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Phase 5 · Build your portfolio

Structuring the portfolio

Sub-division by Core Objective, the hyperlinked index, cross-referencing to the forms, and how to spend 300 pages.

Who this is for:Candidates at any stage ·Mentors

The structure is prescribed more than most candidates realise: sub-divided by Core Objective, indexed, hyperlinked, and cross-referable to the report forms.

What goes inside the portfolio, and what goes alongside itThe portfolio is a single PDF of at most 300 pages: a signed checklist first, a hyperlinked index, then ten sections one per Core Objective. Supporting documents — quarterly report forms and the progress summary record on the individually managed route, or signed training records on the accredited training scheme route — go directly to the reviewers and do not count towards the page limit.INSIDE THE 300 PAGES — ONE PDFOUTSIDE THE PAGE COUNTSigned portfolio checklistThe Institution's own form, first page, signed. Never reproduced here.Hyperlinked indexOne line per Core Objective, plus PDF bookmarks.Ten objective sectionsOnly the documents relevant to that objective in each, each item annotatedwith your contribution.Quarterly report formsIndividually managed route.Progress summary recordIndividually managed route.Signed training recordsAccredited training scheme route.Pages beyond the maximum are removed by your reviewers and cannot be used during the interview.
Supporting documents go directly to your reviewers and do not consume the page limit.

How it must be organised

Institution of Structural Engineers

  • The portfolio must be sub-divided into the Core Objectives, with only the relevant documents in each section.
  • Include a hyperlinked index to the sections, and bookmarking if possible.
  • It must allow easy cross-referencing with the IPD final report forms.
  • A signed copy of the Institution's portfolio checklist must be the first page.
  • Pages of text must be A4 — you cannot reduce pages to A5 to fit two onto a sheet.
Portfolio text pages
A4You cannot reduce pages to A5 to fit two onto an A4 sheet.
Portfolio drawings
A3maximumEvery A3 page must be legible on a computer screen.
Minimum font size
Arial 10Applies to the portfolio and to the IPD final report forms.

From IPD Guidance — Chartered Member, Institution of Structural Engineers.

An order that satisfies the requirements

  1. 01

    The signed portfolio checklist

    First page, as required. Download the current version from the Institution — it is the only version that counts, and it changes.

  2. 02

    A hyperlinked contents page

    One line per Core Objective, each linking to its section. Add PDF bookmarks for the same sections; between them, a reviewer can move around your document in one click instead of scrolling.

  3. 03

    A one-page project key

    Not required, but it earns its page. A short table of the projects referred to — sector, your role, dates, and whether anything is redacted — saves you repeating context in ten sections.

  4. 04

    Ten sections, one per Core Objective, in the Institution's order

    Only the documents relevant to that objective in each. Head each section with the objective number and title so a reviewer arriving by bookmark knows immediately where they are.

  5. 05

    Within a section: a short lead, then annotated evidence

    A few lines saying which pieces of evidence carry this objective and why, then the evidence itself, each item annotated with your contribution.

Cross-referencing that actually works

"Easy cross-referencing with the IPD final report forms" is a requirement, and the cheapest way to meet it is a stable reference on every page of evidence — for example `CO4-03` for the third item under objective 4 — used verbatim in the form.

The reviewer's experience then becomes: read your claim on the form, see `CO4-03`, jump to that page, find the claim evidenced. Without it, they are hunting, and a hunting reviewer is forming a view about Core Objective 2.

Spending the 300

A rough division that keeps you honest, for a portfolio using the full allowance:

Objectives set at Ability generally need more pages than those set at Knowledge, because showing that you worked unsupervised and advised others takes more than showing that you understand something. Do not divide equally out of tidiness.

What a section looks like when it works

One page introducing the evidence. Three to six items. Each item on one or two pages, cropped to what matters, annotated. No item appearing in more than one section — if a document genuinely evidences two objectives, put it in one and cross-reference it from the other rather than paying twice.

A portfolio that a reviewer can navigate without asking you a single question about where something is has already made an argument for Core Objective 2.

Assembly

Worth doing

  • Export one PDF from the start and rebuild it, rather than merging at the end
  • Check the file opens, the bookmarks work and the hyperlinks resolve, in a reader other than the one you built it in
  • Crop drawings to the region you are evidencing and enlarge it
  • Keep the reference codes identical between the portfolio and the forms
  • Read the whole thing on a laptop screen at 100% before sending it

Avoid

  • Reduce pages to A5 to fit two on a sheet — the guidance rules this out
  • Use a font smaller than the minimum in your portfolio or your forms
  • Include a document twice to make two sections look fuller
  • Send a set of separate files, or a link that expires
  • Leave the index unlinked because the deadline is close

Portfolio page budget

Where your pages are going, and which objectives are being carried by nothing. The limit is the Institution's; the arithmetic is yours.

Signed checklist, hyperlinked index, project key.

Pages used of the maximum4 of 300

Add the documents you intend to include, one at a time, with the objective each one is filed under.

    Everything here is stored in this browser only. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is analysed, and clearing your browser data will delete it — so export anything you want to keep.

    Related pages and tools

    Read the official guidance