Implementation of Integrative Projects as a Contribution to the Major Design Experience in Chemical Engineering

Abstract

The training of chemical engineers requires creating dynamics that bring them closer to the reality of professional practice and providing active learning experiences to develop skills that strengthen critical thinking, autonomy, teamwork, and communication, as a contribution to sustainable engineering education. However, these experiences are isolated, and sometimes do not show an integrated vision between different areas of knowledge. This work aims to introduce the lessons learned by creating capstone integrative projects as tools for the design and control of processes in the Faculty of Chemical Engineering of the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. The capstone project was developed in randomly selected groups to develop a basic engineering proposal for an industrial process of local or national interest. Validation was carried out, consisting of surveys of 54 students in the last year of the program, an opinion query of 60 recent graduates, and a focus group of five graduates, with a profile of employers, management of innovation, development, and design of chemical processes. Between 2016 and 2020, more than 43 processes were evaluated with students, evidencing a significant improvement in the skills defined by the faculty in the graduation profile. A total of 94% of the graduates in that period recognize the capstone project as an integrator of design and process control, and it is concluded that this contributes positively to the professional development of the chemical engineer.