Process Engineering
Process engineering can be defined as the convergence of several disciplines that combine the knowledge and expertise that support the industrial transformation of raw or synthetic materials into one or more manufactured products by using unitary operations.
The process engineer is in direct connection with the major challenges of the century, starting with energy management, optimal transformation of raw materials to the limitation of environmental and safety hazards. In order to face these challenges, training in process engineering have to rely on theoretical and practical knowledge in the different transfer phenomena, on all unit operations and through a good mastery of calculation methods, computer science and simulation.
A process engineer must also have a good sense of innovation and master the tools for designing new processes for the transformation and valorization of matter and energy. He must have the ability to optimize operational processes and ensure the efficient running of production and transformation chains. A mastery of the passage from laboratory scale to pilot and then industrial scale is also essential as well as respecting international standards related to quality, hygiene, safety and environment.
All these competencies give this specialty a wide range of potential sectors of activity in which the engineer can practice and innovate.
- Activity sectors :
The main target activity sectors for process engineering in IIT are:
AS-1.Chemical & pharmaceutical field: This field includes companies whose activity consists of manufacturing products by controlled chemical synthesis. This sector includes phytosanitary chemistry, pharmaceutical industry, polymer manufacture, paints and oleochemistry.
AS-2. Electricity industry: which ensures the efficiency of industrial production processes, to find and study improvement opportunities on the processes.
AS-3.Food industry: It concerns industries whose activity consists in transforming food products from agriculture or fishing into industrial food intended mainly for human consumption.
AS-4. Plastics: This field concerns the design, manufacturing and marketing industries of polymer materials used for many purposes such as packaging, agriculture and transport...
AS-5. Oil industry: This sector deals with the oil and gas industrial chain, from the reservoir to the end-user.
AS-6. Water and sanitation: This sector cover infrastructure and services related to providing safe and quality drinking water and sanitation services to households’ industries.
AS-7. Energy: The energy industry includes integrated power utility companies. Energy companies are categorized based on how the energy that they produce is sourced and will typically fall into non-renewable and renewable categories
AS-8. Textiles: The textile industry covers all the activities of design, manufacturing and marketing of textiles. The contribution of process engineering in this sector involves all transformation steps and auxiliary utilities
AS-9. Waste recovery: This sector concerns industries that treat and/or valorize water, solid and gaseous wastes
Each sector of activity is covered through different pedagogical activities (face-to-face courses - workshops - visits...).
- Professions
For these target sector of activities, training at IIT allows the graduate to have a career as:
P1. Manufacturing engineer : which consists in organizing, managing and controlling the production of one or more plants
P2. Methods engineer : which ensures the efficiency of industrial production processes, to find and study improvement opportunities on the processes.
P3. Control office manager: which analyzes the customer's expectations, coordinates the work of its teams and validates the response provided.
P4. Technical Sales Engineer : Able to play the role of Business Development Manager for a company's client base
P5. Industrial buyer : who selects and negotiates materials and/or consumables needed for the company's production, according to volume, cost and quality objectives
P6. QHSE manager : whose main role is to prevent industrial risks related to the environment of employees within a company
P7. Industrial project manager : that develops and implements a project. This job ensures the technical, administrative and budgetary management from the design phase to its completion.
P8. Production manager: which is in charge of supervising the manufacturing of the company's various product lines
P9. R&D engineer: who participates in the design and development of new products, services or processes as part of an innovation project
P10. Head of a design office: As a manager, salesman and technician, the design office manager fulfils many missions. He/she analyzes the customer's expectations, coordinates the work of his/her teams and validates the response provided.
In order to cover all sectors of activity, the graduate must acquire a set of generic and specific skills to succeed in a career in one of the professions targeted by the training at IIT. These competencies are obtained at IIT through courses and extracurricular activities.
- Competences :
The competencies are classified into two classes: Generic competences and specific competences
• Generic competences: This type of competence is common to all engineering programs. They are subdivided into six subgroups.
GC1.Knowledge and Understanding: It consists of all the knowledge related to the specialty of process engineering necessary to understand the phenomena that may occur in the sectors of activity targeted by the program.
GC2.Engineering Analysis: It consists of abilities that allow the engineer to correctly analyze systems related to the specialty using appropriate tools
GC3.Engineering Design: it is about the competencies that enable the engineer to design and develop solutions using appropriate tools
GC4. Investigations and Assessment it is the faculty of research and investigation that allows the engineer to identify for a specified theme a study of the existing, to be able to analyze it and then develop it.
GC5.Engineering Practice: it about practical competencies that must have the engineer
GC6.Transferable Skills: it consists of transversal competences and soft skills (leadership, teamwork, communication skills, problem-solving skills…
- Specific competences: This type of competence is specific for process engineering. They are subdivided into 16 subgroups:
SC1. Gained an understanding of the multi-disciplinary context of process engineering.
SC2. Consolidated knowledge of mathematic-scientific and engineering principles of process engineering
SC3. Analyze and solve problems scientifically, which may be incompletely defined and develop different scenario to get solutions
SC4. Use innovative methods for practice-oriented problem-solving with suitable methods of analyzing, modelling, simulating and optimizing.
SC5. The ability to conceive process flowsheets and designs for industrial equipment in order to optimize solutions for practice-oriented problems
SC6. Develop new and inventive practical solutions to reduce industrial risks
SC7. Carry out literature research and plan and carry out suitable experiments in process engineering related field.
SC8. Critically assess data and draw conclusions.
SC9. Investigate and assess the application of new and emerging technologies in process engineering related field
SC10. Able to independently plan, control and monitor processes and to develop and operate systems and equipment
SC11. Combine knowledge in different fields for fast realization and to handle complexity
SC12. Able to apply technical and economic solution in order to optimize processes
SC13. Use diverse methods to communicate effectively with the national and international engineering community and with society at large
SC14. Demonstrate awareness of the health, safety and legal issues and responsibilities of engineering practice and commit to professional ethics
SC15. Regularly conduct technical meetings in order to identify risky situations and decide on interventions
SC16. Function effectively as leader of a team that may be composed of different disciplines and levels