a. What is the problem/issue being addressed?
The chemical industry in Europe faces stiff competition as it fights to strengthen its position in the global market place. Europe’s greatest asset is its human capital, but the people working in such a technology-based environment, with the rise of the “smart factories” of Industry 4.0 need to be very well qualified. The situation of yesteryear, where a person could be trained to carry out a job for the whole of his/her career has long since gone; now the situation is one of developing skills and competencies, but then being able to adapt, re-learn and be able to cross sectors and disciplines in a world of work that is dynamic and subject to constant change. Continuous professional development, the stimulation of creative thinking and the motivation of youngsters for science & technology are high on the EU’s agenda. Recent developments in immersive learning technologies are providing exciting new tools for teaching and training programmes, yet they remain underutilised in science & technology education, and nowhere is this more true than in the field of chemistry and chemical engineering.
b. Why is it important for society?
With the transition to Industry 4.0 both European industry and the European education system need to be ready to adapt the current and future workforce to the radically changing competency and capability requirements. Given the nature, complexity and the hazards involved in manufacturing, the huge importance of high-quality education as well as the permanent in-training of employees (in particular operators) is more than obvious. Action towards various target groups is required and it is required now: young people, particularly girls, need to be inspired and motivated to become tomorrow’s engineers; schools and higher-education institutions need to adapt their teaching materials and instruction tools; industries need to streamline and manage their training programme (often more than 100 training and briefing sessions per year) in an effective and efficient way.
c. What are the overall objectives?
CHARMING, the European Training Network for Chemical Engineering Immersive Learning, was a key instrument for supporting the chemical process industry in their quest for talented and motivated employees of the future. The chemical industry was, and still is facing a huge transition from conventional chemical technologies to novel, intensified processes, which requires motivating young people to develop an interest in science and technology, support students to study chemical engineering and train employees in dedicated situations. CHARMING emphasised approaches that focused on learners’ understanding, creative design and out-of-the-box thinking. CHARMING’s vision was that of playful learning throughout a person’s life, where creativity was stimulated. CHARMING trained 15 ESRs in the research-based development, use and evaluation of immersive tools for the education of chemical engineering, including novel chemical technologies such as process intensification.
