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The Diploma in Chemical Engineering (DCHE) of Singapore Polytechnic (SP) adopted the CDIO framework as the basis for its curriculum since 2007. In an earlier paper (presented at the 6th International CDIO Conference in 2010), the authors shared on the inclusion of a module Product Design and Development in Year 2 of the DCHE curriculum as a response to the emergence of chemical product engineering in the chemical engineering discipline.
This present paper is an update of work done since then. It briefly explains what design thinking (DT) is, and how it fits into the CDIO framework. It then explains the coverage of the new module Introduction to Chemical Product Design and how we customized the teaching of DT to meet the needs of chemical engineering. It shares the general outline of the syllabus and how it guides our approach in designing the various learning tasks in an integrated curriculum, including the use of reverse engineering.
It shares how we integrate the new module with existing modules Product Design and Development and Final Year Project to provide a seamless coverage of C-D-I-O skills across the diploma’s 3-year curriculum; as well as important revisions made to the original Product Design and Development module.
The paper then discusses some challenges faced by the team and some approaches that we have taken to overcome these difficulties.
Lastly, we shares some learning points from this initiative, which at the time of this submission, had just completed its first pilot run. Ideas for furthering improving the teaching of this exciting subject in chemical engineering will also be presented.
(NOTE: Singapore Polytechnic uses the word "course" to describe its education "programs". A "course" in the Diploma in Chemical Engineering consists of many subjects that are termed "modules"; which in the universities contexts are often called “courses”.)