Una propuesta para fortalecer el énfasis profesional del currículo de ingeniería química

A proposal to strengthen the professional emphasis in the chemical engineering undergraduate curriculum at the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB) in Colombia is presented. In recent decades, the areas of knowledge and the professional fields associated to chemical engineering have changed and increased greatly, encouraging the renovation of the undergraduate formation process. The Chemical Engineering Program of UPB has designed a strategy to bring specialized training in specific fields of knowledge and professional performance to students, integrating undergraduate and graduate education. This strategy, called Optional Training Routes, consists of a combination of 15 elective credits, of which 6 correspond to undergraduate courses and 9 to graduate courses offered by the School of Engineering. This paper shows the nine optional training routes designed, which configure nine professional profiles and promote further education at graduate level. Undergraduate students can choose one of these routes according to their individual skills and interests, strengthening their own autonomy.