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Q&A with University of Surrey Chemical Pilot Plant Education and Training Team

How would you describe the nature of the team in a single sentence?
Please describe as feels most comfortable to you.

For example, ‘a team from X working with collaborators from Y and Z’, ‘a collaboration between X, Y and Z’, etc.
The Surrey Pilot Plant Team is a diverse group of individuals who bring together scientific, design, technical, pedagogic and industry expertise to create and deliver an innovative, highly engaging and real-world focused learning experience.

What would be your advice to educators who are working with colleagues going above and beyond, but are yet to nominate them for an RSC Education prize?
Professor Esat Alpay - Use this wonderful opportunity to disseminate your work, enthuse others and give your team the credit and recognition that it deserves.

What was your role within the team?
In no particular order.....

Professor Adrian Dobbs - As Head of School, it is my absolute privilege to lead this fantastic team within the School of ¾ÅÖÝÓ°Ôº and Chemical Engineering, to thank them all for their dedication, hard work and determination to make the project such a success and also to acknowledge more widely all the people beyond the immediate team who were involved in the project and particularly the wider technical staff.

Professor Esat Alpay - Project Lead.

Dr David Faraday - I designed and project-managed the installation of the pilot plant.
I created all of the technical operational procedures for all aspects of the plant. I created the experiential learning activities used on the pilot plant, including a comprehensive chemical business simulation. Also, for the last 23 years (since 2000), I have been the Programme Director of the OPCW Associate Programme (Surrey Phase), which makes extensive use of the pilot plant facility.

Dr Melis Duyar - I am the module coordinator (since 2019) for Process Operations and Management, our undergraduate module where students get to manage and operate the pilot plant.

Dr Jiri Motejlek - I was a PhD student working on the project and the development of the VR.
I'd also like to acknowledge the help Martin Roubinek provided to me in the 3D modelling for the VR plant.

Dr Kelly Kousi - Integration of the VR technology developed into the curriculum.

Prof Rex Thorpe - Helped develop the original pilot plant project and consulted on the current plant.
Has led the use of the plant in continuing professional development opportunities, so beyond just the undergraduate curriculum e.g. with the FLUOR project and OPCW programme.

Dr Katie Costello - As Admissions Tutor for Chemical Engineering, I ran hands-on activities for potential chemistry and chemical engineering students in Years 10-13 to give them an insight into the industrial application of the subjects they might choose to study at university.
I also developed undergraduate teaching activities related to the pilot plant to help learn key chemical engineering skills such as process design, control, and safety.

Ben Gibbons - School Technical Manager.
I lead the technical team that runs the pilot plant during its operation and would like to thank and acknowledge the wider technical team.

Marco Holness - Faculty Operating Officer who oversaw the building project of the pilot plant.

What were the biggest challenges in this project?
Dr David Faraday - Long before the VR aspect of the project, in the development of the pilot plant and associated modules, designing a complete chemical process safe enough to allow UG students to operate with minimal supervision but complex enough to present a range of practical, technical and intellectual learning experiences, was a major challenge.

What inspires or motivates your team?
Dr Melis Duyar - Seeing student confidence improve and team communication develop with each day on the pilot plant is truly inspiring.

Why is this work so important and exciting?
Professor Rex Thorpe - Large scale chemistry and chemical engineering can be very theoretical/software-based/office-based, both at university and in the workplace. This facility gives students and young scientists and engineers alike a hands-on experience that allows them to understand the physical context of what they have studied and been taught. The best way of learning is by doing.

Dr Katie Costello - The Fluor Pilot Plant gives students the chance to experience the entire chemistry and chemical engineering process, from what happens at the lab scale, to scaling up the chemistry and physically operating a process plant.
They begin by learning in an identical, fully immersive virtual replica of the pilot plant before progressing to the actual plant. The experience includes all facets of the day-to-day operations of a chemical plant, including everything from quality control to safety, environmental impact, and management. The pilot plant really helps our students to connect to the real-world applications of the theory they are studying.

Dr Melis Duyar - It is incredibly rare to find a teaching environment where learning occurs at such a steep pace, and where we have the real and virtual resources to create truly immersive simulations of industrial relevance.
Every unit of the pilot plant has been designed to expose students to some aspect of chemical production that they might see over much longer periods of working in a production environment, and while taking on different roles. But with the pilot plant, we are able to create such learning environments in a few weeks while giving students the freedom to take over the production and prompting them to make decisions that would be expected of senior roles at an industrial company. They then rely on chemistry and chemical engineering theory to directly understand the consequences of their decisions and actions on the plant. With the pilot plant, we can foster curiosity, and promote effective communication, decision-making, team building, work culture creation, all the while practising chemistry and chemical engineering knowledge for problem-solving in real time. The level of confidence developed, and awareness of the broader consequences of chemistry and chemical engineering that is created in the process is what makes me really passionate about being a part of this team.

Where do you see the biggest impact of this project being?
Dr Katie Costello - By developing and integrating the Fluor Pilot Plant into the curriculum in chemistry and chemical engineering, our students have an additional set of skills that sets them apart from other graduates. Industrial interest in scaling up batch and semi-batch processes, which often involve solids handling, is increasing: students learning on the pilot plant will leave the University of Surrey with the skills to have an immediate impact on these sorts of process developments and design.

Dr Melis Duyar - Right now, we need chemists and chemical engineers to design and implement sustainable production pathways for the chemical industry, and to continuously improve these practices.
Therefore we are at a time in history where the chemistry professional needs to have the confidence to tackle the hard problems in circularity and sustainability, and the adaptability to work under changing global conditions. With the teaching practices we're employing using the pilot plant we can educate chemistry professionals to embrace the challenges of an evolving energy landscape, and design socially/environmentally conscious, fair, and economically viable processes of the future with confidence.

Dr Kelly Kousi - Students usually struggle with connecting knowledge they acquire through different modules to real life scenarios.
This projects helps them bridge this gap in a hands on ultra-safe approach.

Dr David Faraday - The OPCW Associate Programme focuses on supporting the implementation of Article XI of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which focuses on promoting the peaceful use of chemistry around the globe.
Since 2000, we have trained more than 570 chemists, chemical engineers and other chemistry-related scientists from 122 different countries. The focus of this training is on capacity building: transferring good practice, knowledge and experience from the established chemical industry to countries where the industry is developing and expanding. This is a significant contribution to the global chemical industry and the ongoing peaceful use of chemistry.

How do you see this work developing over the next few years, and what is next for this initiative/project?
Dr Kelly Kousi - I would like to see this initiative implemented widely within the School’s overall activities. For example, using VR technology could enable the testing of various safety scenarios, by allowing for the identification and resolution of potential hazards before physical implementation. This could be used to train students in Health and Safety. This can also be used in open days and taster days, meaning that School students could be introduced to concepts of chemistry and chemical engineering.

What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?
Dr Katie Costello - Stay curious, always ask questions (even if you think it's a silly one - it's probably not), and never doubt that you can do anything you put your mind to.

Dr Kelly Kousi - My advice is ‘Go for it’!
Having a career in chemistry is like being in a candy shop. Anything you pick would taste amazing and you have so many options! Real talk though, chemistry allows you to be a scientist but also be creative, to me it is a form of art. Although it needs perseverance in most cases, it always keeps you interested, entertained and what you do makes a palpable impact for everyone around you.

How can this project benefit the wider education community?
Professor Adrian Dobbs - The Pilot Plant and the activities we have developed around it (both real and in VR) demonstrate the significant benefits of such an activity in chemical education. We hope that our project inspires other education facilities to try and achieve something similar.

Dr Melis Duyar - Using virtual reality, we can bring the pilot plant to any setting as an educational tool for demonstrating the wider impacts of chemistry and chemical engineering design and decision making.
Virtual reality presents the opportunity to safely experience a production setting in an intuitive way, which means it can be used to engage with all learners interested in the chemical sciences.

Dr Kelly Kousi - The VR aspect of the project utilises a custom developed software that allows engineers and researchers to immerse themselves in realistic virtual environments, and facilitates the visualization and manipulation of complex chemical processes and equipment.
As a result, it could be acquired and used by other educational institutions to allow students to get an immersive experience in a chemical pilot plant, independent of their location. Other than that, it is important to consider that integrating the latest technology requires academic staff that will be able to adapt to these concepts and the demonstration of this project makes a clear example to follow. This concept can also be transferred to other modules or courses, as the combination of VR and hands-on experience would give academics the opportunity to deliver teaching flexibly and meet individual students’ needs in an inclusive way.

What is the importance of collaboration in the chemical sciences?
Dr Katie Costello - Someone said, "no man is an island" - this is especially true when it comes to teaching and research. By sharing best practice, discussing ideas, and working together, we can have much more of a positive impact in our teaching and research outcomes.

Dr Kelly Kousi - Collaboration in any scientific field allows us to combine knowledge and resources.
This leads to the formation of ideas probably not possible by the individual. It also allows for faster implementation and execution of those ideas as workload and expertise is shared, and efficiency is maximised. ¾ÅÖÝÓ°Ôº is such a multifaceted subject, and when combined with other chemical-related sciences such as materials science and chemical engineering, it creates outcomes whose impact transcends conventional boundaries.

How can good science education support solving global challenges?
Professor Rex Thorpe - The pilot plant at the University of Surrey has been used as part of the OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) Associate Programme for the last 20 years. The new (Mark 2) plant has enhanced the University's part; this part is a basic introduction to chemical manufacturing as context for the part of the Chemical Weapons Convention taught by the OPCW in Hague and context and preparation for an industrial placement somewhere worldwide. The Associate Programme is capacity building contributing to the development of chemistry and chemical engineering in Member States, with special emphasis on chemical safety. https://www.opcw.org/resources/capacity-building/international-cooperation-programmes/associate-programme

Dr Kelly Kousi - The role of education in solving global challenges is undeniable.
Most of the contributions to tackling those challenges will stem from young people yet to join the workforce. They are the future. Good science education will be able to attract, excite, and equip those young scientists to join in and make the difference we are preparing them for.

How are the chemical sciences making the world a better place?
Dr Katie Costello - ¾ÅÖÝÓ°Ôº and chemical engineering are part of almost everything we come into contact with daily. From the coffee we drink in the morning, to the clothes that we wear and the energy we use to travel and heat our homes, chemists and chemical engineers are working every day towards solutions that better our planet. Examples include finding sustainable alternatives to lithium batteries, developing processes for the production of biogas and sustainable aviation fuels, ensuring clean water is available to as many people as possible through innovative research, and ensuring food security.

Dr Kelly Kousi - Understanding chemistry means one can make informed decisions on every aspect of life, such as safety or even cooking!
Mastering it allows us to have a profound and multifaceted impact on society and innovate in areas that contribute to a better quality of life for people globally. Examples include but are not limited to finding a clean synthetic fuel, a medicine to battle cancer or the best way to improve agricultural processes.

Why is chemistry important?
Dr Katie Costello - ¾ÅÖÝÓ°Ôº helps us understand the world and our place in it. With chemistry, we can find solutions to problems we didn't think were solvable, and make the world a better place.

Dr Kelly Kousi - ¾ÅÖÝÓ°Ôº is a foundational science.
It has far-reaching impacts on all aspects of modern society and can be found in everything, from the food you eat and the air you breath to the emotions you feel. ¾ÅÖÝÓ°Ôº is everything.