Less talk, more action: Glassey sets out agenda after appointment as EFCE president

INCOMING European Federation of Chemical Engineers (EFCE) president Jarka Glassey is calling for stronger collaboration between research and industry to maximise impact, as climate change and artificial intelligence take centre stage in sector-wide discussions.

Glassey, an IChemE Fellow based at the University of Newcastle in the UK, outlined the priorities of her forthcoming two-year presidency in an interview with TCE, saying the EFCE “needs to look at how we work with industry” to ensure discussion translates to action. She said: “It’s important that it’s not just an academic talk shop…but that there is societal impact and business impact [from] the innovations that we are discussing”.

Glassey will continue to prioritise sustainability and developments in artificial intelligence across the EFCE’s work, including looking at how chemical engineers can use AI responsibly. “We are in an unprecedented era. We have been there for a while now, but with AI it’s getting even more acute. Chemical engineers are now working in an environment that is really pushing us”.

The EFCE comprises member institutions such as IChemE and its counterparts across Europe, along with 19 additional organisations from around the world – including the US, China, India and Brazil. Each institution nominates two delegates to serve on the committees of EFCE’s 20 working parties, which focus on distinct areas of chemical engineering and operate similarly to IChemE’s special interest groups.

The EFCE board and its working parties are currently dominated by representatives from academia, but Glassey is keen to boost industry involvement and challenge the notion of a divide between research and business.

Ultimately, her goal is to improve public awareness of the importance of chemical engineering. “We need to play a much more active role in terms of making sure that society actually understands the need for chemical engineers and the need for chemical engineers to be appropriately educated.”

Glassey acknowledges that many European companies don’t currently see EFCE activities as “business critical,” citing challenging market conditions – including high energy costs and growing competition from Asia. “I’m hoping that [companies] will see that cooperating with other chemical engineers, whether in academia or in business, outside their own country is strategically important.” She added that “the societal pressure will be such that for a company not to be engaged and not to cooperate is going to be impossible”.

Glassey also urged more UK companies and IChemE members to get involved with EFCE activities. Individual members can do this by joining one of the EFCE’s seven “sections”. Unlike working parties, sections are open to any individual member of an institution to join. There are sections for chemical engineering in medicine, early career chemical engineers, energy, food, membrane engineering, product design and sustainability.

Crossing borders

Glassey is also mindful of rising geopolitical tensions – particularly between Europe, the US, and China – which she believes could pose additional challenges to international industrial collaboration. She hopes organisations like the EFCE can rise above political divides, arguing that letting geopolitics hinder scientific and engineering progress is “to the detriment of both sides”.

She cited the example of Brexit temporarily locking the UK out of Horizon funding between 2021 and 2023. “People very quickly realised that it is to the detriment of British science and research and development.”

Glassey also criticised Europe’s historic sense of “superiority” over China when it came to developing technologies such as carbon capture. This “didn’t serve us well”, she said, bemoaning that Europe is now “behind the curve” on carbon capture as a result.

You can find out more about the ECFE at https://efce.info/