Chemical engineering returns to University of Exeter after 25-year hiatus

The University of Exeter is set to welcome its first cohort of chemical engineering students in over 25 years, marking the return of the course to its curriculum.

The bachelor’s course is launching alongside biomedical robotics and systems engineering as part of the engineering department’s “Exeter Engineering 2030” initiative, which aims to transform it into a top 20 UK department for research quality and impact.

Clean energy and sustainability will be core themes in the new course, with dedicated modules on chemical engineering fundamentals, including thermodynamics and heat transfer, and electrochemistry and energy storage.

Ion Sucala, head of engineering, said: “About three years ago, I had an informal conversation with [former IChemE president] David Bogle who said that we should be offering chemical engineering as a course again as it would be much easier to get a course started up.”

He continued: “Exeter is a popular university and with chemical engineering course coverage sparse in the southwest it is a great opportunity to recruit more young people into chemical engineering.”

IChemE past-president Mark Apsey, who was part of the last cohort of chemical engineering graduates from Exeter in 1999, said: “The world needs more chemical engineers, and Exeter’s return to the discipline is a powerful signal of intent. It’s about investing in the future, in innovation, and in young people who will go on to tackle the great challenges of our time.

“I couldn’t be prouder to see my university once again contributing to that mission.”

Course content

Ana Neves, a senior lecturer in materials engineering and course leader for the Chemical Engineering BEng, spent two years putting the course together. She explained how it is designed to give students a flavour of all engineering disciplines.

She said: “A lot of students do not really know what chemical engineering is, and the industry has changed massively in the last few decades with the environment, energy, and net zero.

“Once we show them how chemical engineering is so embedded in these fields, they will understand that it is an interesting field to choose.”

All students across engineering will have a “first common year” that will teach them the basics before going into a specialism, including fundamentals in engineering, mechanics, materials, and electronics.

Sucala says the university draws most of its students from the southeast, southwest and Midlands – regions set to benefit from growing investment in clean energy and battery manufacturing. Statera Energy is currently constructing a 290 MW capacity battery energy storage scheme near Exeter.

Neves added: “We want our engineers to have a wider understanding and skillset for adjacent disciplines so that they can work and communicate with other engineering professionals.”

The university expects to welcome its first cohort of around 20 students, subject to them meeting their offer requirements, in September.