The School of Chemical Engineering has had wide and deep links with industry from its earliest days as a Foundation School. Graduates in the disciplines of chemical engineering, industrial chemistry and food science and technology hold senior positions in many industries both in Australia and overseas.
The majority of our graduates enter the engineering and food professions via industrial employment. Indeed it is the industrial application of many of the underlying technologies that distinguish us from our scientific counterparts.
Many academic staff members have direct industrial experience before joining UNSW, which allows them to make teaching material relevant via case studies.
The final year design project leads to a document that compares favourably with commercial material and the topic is typically of current industrial relevance.
The School has been an active partner in the UNSW Co-op Scholarship Program, with chemical engineering and industrial chemistry scholars being the largest cohort outside of the Business School, for about two decades. Many of these alumni have now reached senior management.
Our research and teaching are inevitably and intimately connected to the real world. Our UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science has been historically linked to a highly successful company located in NSW, now part of Siemens Water Systems.
Strong links with Bluescope Steel, Sydney Water, Veolia and many other companies exist through sponsored projects, consulting and graduate recruitment. Examples of research links to companies involve new catalysts, batteries, paints and pharmaceuticals. We have been active partners in the CRC system, leading to new membranes, photochromic dyes and power cables.
Whilst we have an enviable history of collaboration with industry, we welcome even more interaction and have as a priority a further strengthening of association. Such an involvement aligns strongly with the School’s and Faculty’s strategic imperatives.