Chemical Engineering
The Chemical Engineering programme trains workers involved in the production process in the process industry, with the emphasis being on the chemicals industry. Graduates concentrate their efforts on designing, developing, upgrading, implementing and evaluating integrated systems of plant and equipment, energy, materials, feedstocks and processes in the process industry.
The chemical engineer’s objectives are to optimise reliability, ensure safety and meet product specifications while eliminating wastage of materials, energy, time and other resources. The chemical engineer knows about physical and chemical processes, product characteristics and process steps and is able to place all of this within the context of more abstract theoretical models. Graduates are involved in or even primarily responsible for managing and controlling some or all of the production process. Working as part of a team, they develop or apply new processes or improve existing processes, products or materials. To this end, they consult both operators and senior management and external parties, take decisions on process changes or prepare for these decisions and report on the progress of the process and the result.