(622f) Integrating Industrial Practice in the Chemical Engineering Curricula

In recent years the department of Chemical Engineering at Monash has been increasingly incorporating contributions to the teaching delivery from industrial experts with the aim to enrich the curriculum content, provide up to date relevant expertise in engineering practice and improve the student experience. 

Monash has successfully embedded chemical engineering practice within the curricula by having industrial experts contributing to significant components in the teaching delivery and in particular in years 3 and 4 where students have contact with industrial experts every semester.  These contributions are via continuous delivery of material for 3-12 weeks of the semester and are additional to ad-hoc guest lectures and the industrial expertise of some academic staff. Units such as Process Control, Sustainable Processing I, Process Design, Engineers in Society, Design Project, Sustainable Processing II covering aspects such as control valves, sensors and control systems, sustainability, Life Cycle Analysis, carbon emissions and legislation, equipment design, HAZOP, major safety incidents, safety legislation, environmental management and legislation and waste management.

The paper will describe and discuss the approach taken to engage the industry overcome logistic issues, the synergies that have been built from these interactions and the perceived benefits and outcomes of this approach from the perspective of both students and staff.