ICIS Chemical Business recruitment blog: June 2009 Archives

ExxonMobil behind $300,000 science grant

By Andy Brice on June 30, 2009 10:22 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

By Lara McNamee

Petrochemical giant ExxonMobil has awarded a grant of $300,000 (€213,000) to SECME, an Atlanta-based non-profit alliance of universities, schools, industrial and governmental organisations in the US. The money will help to promote education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for young minority students.

"ExxonMobil believes it is critical to America's future competitiveness to encourage US students, in particular young women and under-represented minority groups, to pursue careers in science, technology, education and math," says Truman Bell, senior programme officer for education and diversity at ExxonMobil.

In the past decade, ExxonMobil has pledged more than $2.5m to SECME to support its educational programmes.

SECME's key strategy is to provide teacher training that helps to enhance student interest with the support of 37 member university engineering schools. These include universities such as Georgia Tech, Tuskegee University, Howard University and the University of Houston in the US.

In surveys of graduating high school seniors who had participated in SECME, more than 90% said they planned to join a college and 50% said they will major in STEM related fields.

The SECME scheme really does sounds like a great solution for increasing the already flagging STEM numbers for the years ahead.

But what do you think? Is this scheme as good as it sounds? Do you know of any other similar schemes around the globe? Let us know...

Chemical firms search for qualified workers

By Andy Brice on June 29, 2009 12:17 PM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

By Lara McNamee

A report in the Metro News, West Virginia, US has led me to check out the chemical process operator-training program that has been created by a consortium of chemical companies, known as the Chemical Alliance Zone.

It is offered in partnership between the West Virginia Manufacturers Association Chemical Industry Committee and a number of community and technical colleges.

The aim is to find a number of new workers in Kanawha Valley, West Virginia, to replace the high number of workers that are currently retiring or due for retirement. The program highlights that jobs are widely available for qualified applicants and offers a "lucrative salary and benefit packages" with major employers within the region's chemical industry.

In addition, the site offers access to the West Virginia Manufacturers Association's job database. Local industry supporters of the scheme include Dow, DuPont, Bayer CropScience and Bayer MaterialScience amongst others.

Open days in 2009 are planned for 30 June, 30 July and 11 August.

Lanxess launch education initiatives in China

By Andy Brice on June 23, 2009 2:48 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

A lot of chemical companies announcing education partnership the past few days.

This one is from German rubber company Lanxess who launched an education initiative in collaboration with the Qingdao University of Science and Technology (QUST) in Qingdao, China.

Last May, graduate students from the School of Polymer Science and Engineering at QUST attended a five-day advanced study program conducted by LANXESS's Technical Rubber Products business unit. The students worked through some of the most complex technical and scientific problems in polymer physics and rubber chemistry.

At the end of program a final examination was held to select the winner of the LANXESS Rubber Student Award, which was introduced in the initiative to recognize outstanding students in polymer and rubber science.

Ms. Wang Shuang Shuang, a postgraduate student from the School of Polymer Science and Engineering at QUST, became the first recipient of the award and will benefit from one month of technical training at LANXESS's headquarters in Leverkusen, Germany.

That's good to put in a resume!

Xperimania winners revealed

By Andy Brice on June 23, 2009 10:50 AM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

A team of British students from Smithycroft Secondary School in Glasgow, Scotland, have emerged victorious in the Xperimania school competition.

The contest was launched to promote science education with easy and fun experiments on properties, materials and their impact on daily life.

Almost 900 secondary school students from 20 European countries participated, with 430 submissions in the competition during the school year 2008/09. Winners were chosen by judges from the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) and European Schoolnet.

The winning entry saw students, Jack and Nicola, investigate the properties of disposable baby nappies, and test the material - polyacrylate - which makes nappies water absorbent.

Click here for the top 50 entries.

See also:

Mad Science initiative makes science fun

By Andy Brice on June 23, 2009 9:29 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Heard about a great initiative on the website of Wired magazine...Mad Science - headquartered in Montreal, Canada - aims to encourage "scientific literacy in children in an age when science is as vital as reading, writing and arithmetic".

The scheme runs after-school programs, workshops, pre-school programs, summer & vacation programs, parties and special events - and has franchises in 19 countries.

Check out the Mad Science website here.

APPE Xperimania project attracts students

By Andy Brice on June 22, 2009 2:16 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Earlier this year, I took a flight to Brussels, Belgium, and visited Cefic's headquarters to participate in an online discussion with children from 12 secondary schools across Europe.

The trip was part of the Xperimania project (click here for more information about my visit) - an initiative launched in the 27 EU member states in 2007 and coordinated by European Schoolnet on behalf of the Association of Petrochemicals Producers in Europe.

The aim is to help students in lower and secondary schools - from 10-20 years old - and their teachers understand the wide variety of applications of petrochemistry and increase their interest in the sector.

In the 2007-2008 school year, around 1,000 pupils participated in the scheme's various activities including internet-based seminars and competitions. Some 50,000 students visited the web site.

For any questions about the project, its activities and competition send an email to xperimania@eun.org.

Do you know of any other initiatives like this? Let us know...

Dow partners with King Abdullah University

By Andy Brice on June 22, 2009 9:30 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Dow Chemical is expanding its research and development in areas such as carbon capture, enhanced oil recovery, water desalination, solar energy, and wind energy, by hooking up with grad students from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia.

It's new partnership with KAUST will also look to develop new routes for producing chemical derivatives using catalysis.

KAUST is a graduate-level research university aiming to promote the advancement of science and technology in Saudi Arabia.

The University is scheduled to open in September 2009.

Cognis funds University Chair in green chem

By Andy Brice on June 18, 2009 5:23 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Germany specialty chemicals supplier Cognis said today that it is endowing a Chair of Communications and Management of Chemical Processes in Industry at the University of Wuppertal (Germany).

The endowment is intended to promote teaching, research and development activities relating to sustainable chemistry, and to strengthen the company's ties with the university.

Cognis will fund the post for three years, after which time the costs will be borne by the university.

University builds world's first racing car from renewables

By Andy Brice on June 18, 2009 3:31 PM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

The UK's Warwick University has developed the world's first racing car made from renewable materials. BASF contributed catalyst technology to the 'green' car.
This is a great example of academia and industry working together. I'm sure students would love to work on a project like this.

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/racing_car

http://www.basf.com/group/pressrelease/P-09-262

Schools sought for US science education alliance

By Andy Brice on June 17, 2009 2:21 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the US is holding a competition to find 12 colleges and universities to join the Science Education Alliance (SEA) to engage students through authentic research experiences at the start of their academic careers.
Schools have until October 1, 2009 to submit their applications. 12 schools will be selected and given teaching and laboratory resources.
Students from the 2008-2009 academic year are currently working on genomics.
Go to http://www.hhmi.org/news/sea20090527.html for more info.

student discovers polystyrene-eating bug

By Andy Brice on June 16, 2009 11:29 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Thought I'd highlight our ICIS chemicals confidential blog (http://www.icis.com/blogs/icis-chemicals-confidential/) that mentions an article in the Taiwan News about a high school girl who has discovered a polystyrene-eating bacterium.
The article, Top awards in last month's Intel International Science Fair go to Tseng I-Ching from Taiwan who discovered a 'red bacterium' derived from mealworm beetles that metabolizes polystyrene, is here: http://www.mnn.com/technology/research-innovations/blogs/high-school-girl-discovers-styrofoam-eating-bacterium
Maybe stuff like this will encourage more kids to take up science!

Bayer foundation: €150,000 for foreign scholarships

By Andy Brice on June 15, 2009 2:36 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

This is just in from Bayer. The company is offering cash for students to undertake foreign scolarships in natural sciences. The first two sets of awards benefitted 40 students. This has to a fantastic way to encourage people into the industry. Money speaks louder than words!

Kids holiday science camps

By Andy Brice on June 15, 2009 11:46 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Nice to see that in my local area, southeast UK, there is a program run for kids in the summer holidays that focuses on science.
The camps are run throughout the southeast (and possibly elsewhere in the UK) from 9.30 to 15.30 for three days and include hands-on experiments, games and demonstrations.
There are also some free taster sessions.
Check them out at www.madscience.org/southeast.
In fact, a quick peek at their website shows that they operate worldwide and even offer kids science parties!

Environmental internships for students

By Andy Brice on June 15, 2009 11:23 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

ExxonMobil is providing work experience and educational opportunities for Dallas-area high school students from low- to moderate-income families. Please let us know if you hear of any similar initiatives. Are they worthwhile?

Borealis Student Innovation Award 2009

By Andy Brice on June 12, 2009 10:44 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Austria-headquarted plastics supplier Borealis is encouraging students to submit entries for its Student Innovation Awards.

The aim is to recognise the most innovative research papers on polyolefins, olefins or melamine to engage young people in the company's vision of "shaping the future with plastics. Entry will be open to graduates worldwide.

There will be two awards, one for a master's degree and another for a doctorate degree graduate. The lucky winners will receive certificates and prize money of €3,000 and €5,000, respectively.

"Knowledge is an integral part of the future - and it is for this reason that we have decided to recognise outstanding contributions to innovation through this award scheme," said Christian Paulik, manager for External Research and Funding.

Each thesis that is submitted must be no more than two years old, with the final date for entries 27 November. A jury of independent academics and Borealis representatives will then wade through them all and select the winners.

Borealis piloted this scheme last year and received over 200 applications. One of the winners now works for the company!

If you're interested in entering, click here.

Dupont talks tempt students towards science

By Andy Brice on June 12, 2009 10:03 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

It's essential that chemical companies raise their efforts to communicate with students, promoting science and a future for them in the industry.

DuPont China is doing just that, with a series of science lectures aimed at children in primary and high schools.

The "DuPont Science Lecture" program in Dongying City, eastern China, started in May with 20 scientists and technicians from the company's R&D Centre volunteering to take part.

Students were able to participate in fun interactive presentations and demonstrations, and hear talks on a diverse range of topics including Colorful Chemistry, Material & Safety, and the interestingly titled Omnipotent Corns.

Catching their attention and offering some inspiration at such a young age is exactly what's needed.

Are you running a similar initiative? We'd be interested in hearing from other companies who are working to encourage fresh faces into the industry!

Campaign: a call to action!

By Andy Brice on June 8, 2009 10:17 PM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

We may be in the midst of one of the worst global recessions of all time but there may be a far greater threat to the chemical sector.

The industry's workforce is aging, students are looking elsewhere and essential knowledge and expertise is at risk of being lost.

It's no secret that the industry is experiencing a severe labour shortage; whether it's staff in the laboratories, engineers out in the field or truck drivers moving from site to site, the industry desperately needs to recruit.

In mature economies such as North America and Europe, the cost base can't compete with emerging markets. This makes it all the more important to attract the most talented young people to the industry to help it innovate and survive.

But where have all the students gone and what is the solution?

Over the coming months, ICIS Chemical Business and its network of journalists aims to stimulate discussion amongst industry and spark interest among students on this global issue.

There are signs of improvement. National trade associations have been raising efforts to increase awareness, targeting youngsters through schools, colleges and career fairs to encourage them to follow a career in science.

Schools and colleges have been striving to make science and engineering more exciting, while chemical companies have also upped their game, increasing investment in internships, apprenticeships and in-house training programs.

But is this enough?

We'll be looking at current strategies, evaluate and analyse the successes and failures, propose alternatives and improvements, and consider the repercussions if nothing is done.

Is the industry doing enough to convince prospective employees that this is a sector full of opportunity with amazing travel prospects, lucrative salaries, superb career progression and job security?

Let us know your thoughts.

(Photo credit: James Sarmiento)

June 2009 Archives