Work-in-progress: A delphi study of skills and competencies for the hydrocarbon industry

Abstract

This paper describes an in-progress research study to develop consensus among working industry professionals and chemical engineering faculty on the particular skills and workforce competencies needed in the hydrocarbon industry for the National Science Foundation-sponsored Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources (CISTAR). This study uses a Delphi methodology, which is a systematic solicitation and collection of feedback from a pool of experts (approximately 10-30) on a particular topic through a set of carefully designed sequential surveys. In between survey collection rounds, data are synthesized, summarized, and presented back to the experts for reflection and group consensus building. Once consensus for this study is reached, the list of skills and competencies will be used in the center's graduate courses, summer programs (e.g., Research Experiences for Undergraduates, Research Experiences for Teachers), and K-12 outreach efforts.