Chemical Engineering Body of Knowledge: An Academic Perspective

Chemical Engineering is increasingly multidisciplinary. Chemical Engineers work in fields ranging from healthcare, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, chemicals and plastics to electronics and advanced materials. Driven by current trends in research funding, chemical engineering education and research has tended to emphasize molecular level processes. However recent studies show that employers of chemical engineering undergraduates want students trained in traditional areas with a strong understanding of macroscopic processes. Thus a gap is developing between the training received by undergraduates and the expectation of industry.

The Chemical Engineering Body of Knowledge provides a framework that highlights the areas of competence expected by employers of chemical engineering graduates. The Body of Knowledge could be a very useful tool when designing undergraduate courses. In this presentation some of the discrepancies between the education and training received by undergraduates versus the expectations of employers will be discussed. The potential role of the Chemical Engineering Body of Knowledge in bridging this gap will be highlighted.