In the first year of the program, detailed attention is given to building up knowledge. To create a broadly based, top-level interdisciplinary program, the basic component is formed by a coherent set of courses, in which group assignments and teamwork play central roles. All courses are purpose-made for this designer's program and are given mainly by lecturers from industry and experts of the field. The courses are offered mainly in our own PPD room on the TU Eindhoven campus.
Some of the courses being offered are:
- Process Design and Scale-up
- Product Design
- Polymer Reaction Engineering
- Chemical Thermodynamics
- Process Modelling and Simulation
- Chemical Reactor Development and Process Intensification
- Process Synthesis
- Computational Fluid Dynamics
In these courses, software packages like ASPEN PLUS, COMSOL, MATLAB, Mobatec and others are used. The PPD courses are subject to change as the programme evolves annually based on trainee feedback. Integration of professional knowledge takes place during the more extensive courses 'Process Design and Scale-up' and 'Product Design'. Apart from the traditional chemical engineering subjects, courses like Electrochemistry and Biorefinery are also offered to keep the trainees up to date with industry trends.
Next to the technical courses in the basic component, also some non-technical courses are given, such as:
- Professional Development
- Cost Estimation
- Energy transition and Circularity in the chemical industry
- System thinking
This allows the trainees grow professionally and personally. More courses of non-technical nature are offered in the elective phases (25%) where trainees are given a chance to explore their interests ranging from Data science to Entrepreneurship.
Structure of the first year
The PPD curriculum is divided into 2 semesters, the winter and summer semester. The winter semester is focused on Process Design, and the summer semester is focused on Product Driven Process Design.
From October to April the focus of the courses in on Process Design. This half of the year is finalized with a project in which you have to build a process design model from the scratch, including cost and sustainability calculations. In this way all the knowledge you gained during the courses is applied.
From April to October the focus of the courses is more on Product Design. Also this half of the year is finalized with a project where you design your own product and corresponding process.
We have 2 starting dates per year, 1 April and 1 October. This means that every 6 months, a new group of trainees starts their PPD journey. You will get to work with 2 different generations of trainees during your first year (+/- 50 people). The change in people every 6 months allows you to gain experience with team work and working in a multicultural setting.
For foreign participants, courses in Dutch are provided outside the common program.
We hope that we have given you a good impression of the set-up of the designer's program 'Process and Product Design' and the contents of the first curricular year.
