Systematic design, implementation and students’ perceptions of a Polymer Engineering course for Chemical Engineering curricula

Authors

• Krishna Prasad Rajan * ¹
• Aravinthan Gopanna ²
• Rajesh Theravalappil ³
• Selvin P. Thomas ⁴

1. Department of Chemical Engineering Technology, Yanbu Industrial College, Royal Commission Yanbu Colleges & Institutes, P.O. Box 30346, Yanbu Industrial City, 41912, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
2. Chemical Skills Department, Yanbu Technical Institute, Royal Commission Yanbu Colleges & Institutes, P.O. Box 30346, Yanbu Industrial City, 41912, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
3. Center for Refining & Advanced Chemicals, Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia
4. Department of Chemical Engineering Technology, Yanbu Industrial College, Royal Commission Yanbu Colleges & Institutes, P.O. Box 30346, Yanbu Industrial City, 41912, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

With rapid technological developments in the field of polymers, it became a necessity for the graduates in chemical engineering discipline to have a comprehensive understanding about the synthesis, properties, processing and product design fundamentals of various polymeric materials to excel in their imminent career fields. Many universities offer courses related to polymers as elective courses in the curricula of undergraduate programs in chemical engineering. The design aspects for the development of a core course in polymer engineering for undergraduate chemical engineering program is presented in this paper. The students’ feedback on the newly designed course were also analyzed. The systematic design described here agrees well with the outcome-based education approach promoted by most of the accrediting bodies around the world.

Keywords

• Student perceptions
• Course design
• Polymer engineering core course
• Chemical engineering curricula
• Learning outcomes