TU Delft launches new design degree programme Chemical Product Design
22 June 2012 by M&CSeptember 2012 will see the start of the new Chemical Product Design degree programme at TU Delft. This post-Master’s programme trains PDEng trainees as specialists. They will learn to translate academic developments in the field of Chemical Engineering to concrete applications and industrial products, and to respond to demands from within industry for new technologies. Much attention will be paid to the further development of personal and professional skills. Candidates are interested in an application-oriented alternative to their intended PhD period and want to develop a sound basis that will allow them to get off to a flying start in an industrial career. At the same time, they make a natural contribution to bridging the gap between the academic world and industry. After graduating, the Chemical Product designers will be awarded the degree of “Professional Doctorate in Engineering”, shortened to PDEng. This title is certified by KIVI NIRIA, the Royal Institute of Engineers in the Netherlands.
Two-year programme
In the first year of the two-year programme, the trainees deepen their knowledge of their field and integrate this with aspects such as design methodology, patents and economic evaluation. This integration takes on a concrete form in the group design project that takes place at the end of the first year. The focus of the second year is on an individual design project, carried out in collaboration with a company. In this project the students develop creative new solutions to real-life problems. The design questions will mainly come from industrial partners who are active in the fields of surfaces & coatings, nano-structured materials, energy conversion & storage systems, optical/electronic materials and polymers & composites. Companies such as AkzoNobel, ASM International, DSM, PURAC Biochem and Teijin Aramid will play an important role in this process. Another aspect students will work on through the course of the entire programme is that of developing their personal and professional skills.
The PDEng programme in Chemical Product Design is aimed at students with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering (Molecular or Process Engineering), Nanoscience or a related discipline. The PDEng trainees have an appointment at TU Delft for the duration of the programme; they are therefore “Earning while Learning”.
Delft Product & Process Design Institute
The programme in Chemical Product Design is one of four design degree programmes being offered within the framework of the Delft Product & Process Design Institute. This institute, which is part of the national 3TU Stan Ackermans Institute, is supported by around 20 research groups in the departments of Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering, Process & Energy, Energy & Industry and Aerospace Materials Manufacturing in a number of different faculties of TU Delft. The institute also has strong links with the Delft Process Technology Institute. The programmes are also supported by a range of relevant industries; as applying scientific knowledge in practice is absolutely central to each of the programmes. The launch of the new programme within this institute is in line with the Technology Sector Plan for 2011-2015, in which the government states its aim to strongly increase the number of PDEng graduates in coming years.
Practical applications of research
The coordinators Urjan Jacobs and Jur Thöne are already working on recruiting candidates for the new programme. “We have observed that there is a lot of interest, in the Netherlands and beyond, in acquiring a solid basis in the practical application of research. The PDEng programme in Chemical Product Design offers MSc graduates the opportunity to develop that basis by immersing themselves in the scientific disciplines and gaining experience in the systematic translation of knowledge into applications.”
For more information, go to: www.pdeng.tudelft.nl/cpd
Jur Thöne, programme coordinator – j.w.thone@tudelft.nl - +31 (0)15 27 81171
