Abstract:

In the Chemical Engineering degree syllabus valid until the academic course 2009-2010 (Official State Gazette, 24/09/99), some subjects represented a good opportunity to introduce and consolidate the new teaching alternatives derived from the “ECTS methodology” implementation. Among them, it is worth noting practical comprehensive subjects including Chemical Engineering III and Chemical Engineering IV laboratories. According to their initial definition, these subjects are conceived to apply, in practical terms, the theoretical knowledge that students have acquired from other subjects. Nevertheless, so far it was not possible to connect the different practices to each other and to relate them to the theoretical knowledge in which they are based.

With the main aim of taking advantage of these subjects, increasing the educational process quality and gaining experience from the use of new teaching alternatives, the teaching methodology of the Chemical Engineering III laboratory was modified. In this subject, located within the fourth year of the Chemical Engineering degree, a project-based methodology was proposed. Following this methodology, an overall project is put forward to the student as is the case in a real industry. In view of this proposal, the student should obtain and put into practice the knowledge obtained from subjects such as Chemical Reactors, Separation Processes, Industrial Chemistry, Environmental Technology, Equipment and Installations Design or Control and Instrumentation of Chemical Processes, all of them of vital importance for the Chemical Engineering education. This methodology will help the student to consolidate the theoretical knowledge obtained from these and other important subjects located within former years and the first semester of the fourth year. Furthermore, the students should face this project solution with their current knowledge without devoting a long time to understand it. Finally, both teaching staff and material resources are optimised as the time dedication of the former was not increased and the equipment previously available in the laboratory was used, without a high economical investment.

This new approach brings a distinctive element in which the merger of the different practices allows the student to acquire new skills. Through improving knowledge coordination, individual and team work, the added value of the current teaching methodology is increased.

Keywords:

Chemical engineering, new teaching alternatives.