Chemical Engineering Teaching in COVID-19 Times: Successfully Adapting a Capstone Design Course to a Remote Format

Author(s)

Khouri, Nadia G. ^[1] ; Fontana, Michelli ^[1] ; Dias, Igor L. R. ^[1] ; Maciel, Maria R. W. ^[1] ; Maciel Filho, Rubens ^[1] ; Mariano, Adriano P. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Dept Proc & Prod Dev, Sch Chem Engn, BR-13083852 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Journal of Chemical Education; v. 98, n. 12, p. 3794-3803, DEC 14 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic required educational institutions to adapt face-to-face to remote teaching. This study reports the experience in the first semester of 2020 for a Chemical Engineering Capstone Design Course at the University of Campinas in Brazil. In this course, senior year students develop a group project, in which they simulate a chemical plant and evaluate its technoeconomic feasibility. In 2020, the groups were proposed to design a process to replace diesel fuel from the bus fleet in Campinas city with renewable fuel DME. Because of the pandemic, several adaptations were needed: the theoretical classes became asynchronous, group meetings were online, a commercial simulator was replaced by an open access one, and the schedule was extended by 2 weeks. Despite that, the students had a great performance, comparable to face-to-face. To assess student satisfaction, a questionnaire was used. The course met the expectations of most of the students who also recommended keeping it in the remote format or merging it with face-to-face teaching. Therefore, these changes made it possible to apply new teaching dynamics and tools that could be used in the future to improve the course quality. <comment>Superscript/Subscript Available</comment (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/03019-0 - Development of a vacuum and condensation system to recover acetone-butanol-ethanol from fermentation broths
• Grantee: Igor Lucas Rodrigues Dias
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• FAPESP's process: 19/24071-0 - Comparative evaluation of processes for obtaining 1st and 2nd generation hydrated and anhydro bioethanol using models of non-equilibrium stages
• Grantee: Michelli Fontana
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• FAPESP's process: 15/20630-4 - Biorefinery development integrated to a bioethanol sugar cane plant with zero CO2 emission: routes to convert renewable resources to bio-products and bio-electricity
• Grantee: Rubens Maciel Filho
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants