Luis Miguel Madeira, Associate Professor at DEQ, attended the Working Party on Education (WPE) meeting of the European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE) on 22 October 2020.

The meeting was held in videoconference due to the global pandemic situation associated with OVID-19. The meeting (led by Eric Schaer, chairman of the WPE/EFCE) was attended by about 20 people, mainly from several countries in Europe, but also from Australia.

Among several issues discussed, the following should be highlighted:

  • Publication of the final version of the document reflecting the WPE/EFCE Recommendations for Education in Chemical Engineering (prepared following the changes made by EUR-ACE to the recommendations for 1st and 2nd cycle programmes in engineering);
  • Share of several pedagogical experiences with new teaching methodologies (namely on virtual teaching and assessment and digitalisation, besides distance learning, online courses, self-study and virtual tools), all very relevant in the period we are going through;
  • Information on formats (presential vs. online) of various congresses in the field of chemical engineering, with sessions on education foreseen (e.g. 14th Mediterranean Congress of Chemical Engineering; CHISA 2020 and ECCE13);
  • WPE participation in webinars organised by EFCE in November/December 2020;
  • Exchange of views on the state/evolution/news in the field of chemical engineering education in the various countries, with reference to the global pandemic situation due to COVOID-19. The delegates referred to the measures taken in each country that led to the implementation of various teaching-learning practices, in several cases with 100% virtual teaching (especially in the period from March to May/June 2020).