Specialization Courses

Directions and Specializations offered at the School of Chemical Engineering

The School of Chemical Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) has implemented in its Curriculum, since the Academic Year 1990–1991, the concept of undergraduate Specialization Courses. These constitute an “internal” educational process during the course of studies and are not recorded on the official Diploma title, which remains “Diploma in Chemical Engineering,” without any differentiation regarding the chosen Specialization.

The introduction of Specializations was based on the need to provide students with the opportunity to acquire deeper knowledge in subjects related to the professional field of Chemical Engineers, without fragmenting the unity of the curriculum.

The new Curriculum allows students to choose one of the eight (8) Specializations, which are grouped into four (4) Directions as follows:

  • Process Design, focusing on knowledge and methodologies aimed at the integrated consideration of analysis, synthesis, and simulation of processes, units, and installations of the Chemical Industry, from both technical and economic perspectives.

  • Environment – Energy, focusing on knowledge and skills related to the management of solid, liquid, and gaseous pollutants, as well as the rational and sustainable management and utilization of gaseous, liquid, and solid fuels, and advanced technologies for energy production and storage.

  • Food – Biotechnology, focusing on knowledge and skills related to food chemistry, microbiology, engineering, processing, and design, as well as on the significant opportunities offered by modern biotechnologies (environmental, pharmaceutical, etc.).

  • Materials, focusing on the understanding of the fundamental concepts and methods connecting structure, properties, and processing of materials, as well as on developing the skills required for applying appropriate technologies in the production and processing of various kinds of materials into functional or commercially valuable products.

Specialization Courses are taught in the 8th, 9th, and 10th semesters. A total of 14 courses are offered in the 9th semester and 17 courses in the 8th and 10th semesters, as presented in Table 1, which also includes the corresponding detailed timetable of the Direction–Specialization courses.

Each Specialization includes 3 to 5 courses, with 2–3 offered in the spring semesters (8th, 10th) and 1–2 in the winter semester (9th). Each course is taught over one semester, comprising 40 teaching hours in total (5 hours per week over 8 weeks). The spring courses can be chosen by students either in the 8th, or in the 10th, or across both semesters.

Each student must select:

  • 3 courses from one Specialization,

  • 1 additional course from the corresponding Direction, and

  • 1 course from any Direction.

In total, each student is required to complete 5 Specialization Courses during the 8th, 9th, and 10th semesters.

Choosing a Specialization does not exclude students from the knowledge areas covered by other Specializations, since the necessary knowledge for all is provided through the appropriate “Core Courses.” Likewise, the choice of a Specialization does not predetermine that the student’s Diploma Thesis must necessarily be carried out in one of the related courses, nor does it automatically confer such a right.

Below follows a summary of the identity and content of all eight Specializations.

Specialization in Process Engineering

This Specialization provides advanced knowledge aimed at developing methods of process analysis and application across wide spatial scales, as well as complex forms of phase equilibrium included in advanced thermodynamic tools. Students are trained in the dynamics and response of chemical process systems, as well as in the simulation of multiscale reactors using theoretical models. The objective is to familiarize students with modern methodologies of multivariable process and systems control using computers.

Courses offered:

Specialization in Economics and Business Administration

Overview
This Specialization aims to train students in innovation and entrepreneurship, focusing on the design and development of successful, user-friendly products, efficient production units, and sustainable business ventures. It provides knowledge and cultivates skills required for effective project management and implementation, along with the development of networks that coexist with the conventional organizational structures of enterprises.

Courses offered:

Specialization in Environment

Overview
This Specialization provides knowledge for understanding the concepts and methods of environmental assessment in both the design and operation of industrial processes, pollutant dispersion assessment, industrial waste and water management technologies, as well as the framework, principles, objectives, and tools of Green Chemistry and Engineering.

Courses offered:

Specialization in Energy

Overview
This Specialization trains students in the principles of energy production and conversion, methods of energy saving in industry, the study of fundamental energy conversion systems such as steam, refrigeration, and cogeneration systems, as well as in the processing of conventional and renewable energy sources for the production of end-use energy products. It also covers advanced energy production and storage technologies (batteries, fuel cells, hydrogen).

Courses offered:

Specialization in Biotechnology

Overview
This Specialization—defined as the application of microbial, animal, and plant cells and subcellular systems and processes for the production of goods and services—trains students in the structure and components of the cell, its functional mechanisms, and genetic engineering interventions for their management, ultimately aiming at the technological utilization of biotechnology tools through the design and development of suitable bioprocesses.

Courses offered:

Specialization in Food Science and Technology

Overview
This Specialization trains students in issues related to Food Science and Engineering. It focuses on food components from a physicochemical and biological perspective, the processes used in food processing and preservation, quality, hygiene and packaging, food design, quality assurance and safety, and the technologies of the main food and beverage industries.

Courses offered:

Specialization in Functional and Multiscale Materials

Overview
This Specialization provides knowledge aimed at understanding the fundamental concepts and methods connecting the structure, properties, and processing of materials. Methodologies for the design of materials with predetermined physicochemical and technological properties are developed, along with applications relating to the development of new or improved materials.

Courses offered:

Specialization in Polymers and Compound Materials

Overview
This Specialization aims to train students in the design of modern and recyclable polymeric constructions, environmentally friendly, based on fundamental principles of Polymer Science and Technology. Its goal is to provide knowledge on issues relating to the synthesis and production, physicochemical properties, processing, and recycling of polymers.

Courses offered: