An IChemE meeting of industry and universities in Brisbane (1 December 2007) showed industry believes the chemical engineering departments of our universities need to provide young engineering graduates with more practical based knowledge, to better prepare them for entering the workplace.

A website was developed to provide the universities with some of these tools, in the form of self-contained modules. The website draws on the experience of a practicing chemical engineer (Mr John Westover) with over 26 years of experience.

Examples include applied numerical methods, material balances, and control problems. Many are open-ended. All are variations of the problems he has faced or solved, or his co-workers have faced or solved. This puts a first person approach to the problems, and humanises them.

The university instructor is then able to select which module to use, how many to use, and how to use the modules.