Education 4.0: Integrating Codes, Standards, and Regulations in the Chemical Engineering Curriculum

Abstract

Education 4.0 is the framework to facilitate the development of skills and competencies of engineering students required for Industry 4.0 through the integration of Industry 4.0 applied concepts, networked approach, digitalization of higher education institutions (HEI), and online advancement of teaching and learning practices. In the chemical engineering curriculum of several HEIs, considerable progress in implementing this framework has been made by including computer-aided design tools, updating manufacturing technologies, using simulation and analysis of virtual models, and implementing data analytics in engineering courses and programs. Process and plant design courses such as Plant Design demand that undergraduate students leverage knowledge from core courses completed during first three years of their degree program by developing a plant's conceptual design. This course clearly sets a pathway to integrate Education 4.0 to Industry 4.0. All stakeholders of this course (students, teaching team, and clients) can progressively identify challenges and opportunities to optimize this integration. Many suggested improvements might require a vertical integration of new concepts in the chemical engineering curriculum, involving courses of different levels throughout the undergraduate curriculum. Nevertheless, we consider that immediate actions shall be taken by teaching teams and industry partners in courses such as Plant Design for students achieving the required competencies and skills before graduating from universities. For instance, running a successful multi-disciplinary engineering team for plant design in the industry will require undergraduate students to become familiar with codes, standards, and regulations. According to our industry partners, this lack of familiarization significantly affects the learning curve of junior engineers at work and shows a disconnection between what is learned at university and what is required in the workplace. To facilitate the transition of our students into the process design industry in the framework of Education 4.0-Industry 4.0, in this work, we describe and present the results of applying a strategy to tackle this challenge by (i) identifying the currently applicable codes, standards, and regulations in the process engineering industry for each technical deliverable (process flow diagram, piping and instrumentation diagram, line list, plot plan, design of equipment, risk management, and safety documents) of the course; (ii) designing and delivering workshops to describe and illustrate their applicability; and (iii) creating a written set of guidelines applicable to the course and the workplace.