Graduate Careers Australiaergo - Number 88 September 2002IChemE: the Institution of Chemical EngineersThe Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) was founded in 1922 as the international qualifying and professional body serving chemical engineers, process engineers, bioprocess engineers and professionals from associated disciplines. These roles have continuously expanded and today IChemE has a membership of over 25,000 spanning 80 countries, with approximately 3,000 Australian members. Chemical Engineering is concerned with processes which cause substances to undergo required changes in their chemical or physical composition, structure, energy content or physical state. Chemical Engineers are employed in many areas ranging from research and development, through to the design, construction, commissioning and management of a plant, to product marketing and customer service. Opportunities also exist on the commercial side in banking, insurance, finance and accounting.
Prospects Good For Graduates IChemE recognises the rapid evolution of the profession and in response has adopted information technology as a means of servicing, representing and engaging its international membership base. The Institution supports its members by providing career and professional development guidance throughout the duration of their careers. IChemE has a significant web presence focusing on learning, employment, information and recruitment. The Employment Portal www.icheme.org/employment, a member service, consolidates IChemE’s careers and Continuing Professional Development Services and provides comprehensive careers advice. The Learning Portal, www.icheme.org/learning is a new initiative from IChemE bringing together IChemE’s training and study resources and making them available via the web. The site offers access to IChemE’s catalogue of products and visitors can search for and purchase products online. The Institution also offers a comprehensive range of short courses for scientists and engineers. They include tailored in-company programs, interactive training packages and online courses. Advances in information technology are changing the way chemical engineers work. Worley, a large multidisciplinary contracting company specialising in the provision of design and project services has successfully utilised “virtual teaming” to allow the completion of projects without the constraints of location. “Virtual teaming” allows team members based in disparate locations to collaborate via a web-based system on the development of a project design, and depending on the project, has been found to offer some advantages over the traditional modes of team collaboration. In 2001 IChemE launched www.tce-today.com a companion site to its monthly magazine TCE (The Chemical Engineer). Updated daily, TCE-today provide in-depth analysis, articles on innovative and emerging technologies, news items, jobs and features on a wide range issues affecting engineers employed in the process industries. IChemE supports 20 specialist inter-disciplinary subject groups and extensive national and international networks linking the chemical engineering community. Through these networks, IChemE members have a chance to meet and exchange ideas with others who share common interests. Early next year IChemE will be launching the “E-networking Toolkit” a web-based application to allow members in branches and subject groups to network and share technical information. For further information please contact:
IChemE – Australian National Office
Telephone: 03 9329 3046
Renee Mead |
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