Studying Chemical Engineering at The University of Sheffield

Studying Chemical Engineering at The University of Sheffield
Written by: Tamara Hijazi


Since this is my first post ever, I thought I should introduce myself.
If you’re not interested in my life story, skip to the next paragraph but I recommend you read on.


Oh, you’re still here, good! I’m a second year Chemical Engineering student. Yes, I am an International student, from a fairly unusual place: Palestine. Think that’s interesting? Well, there’s more. I live in Abu Dhabi. It’s next to Dubai (I’ve had people being confused when I say Abu Dhabi but whenever I mention that it’s right next to Dubai, the confused looks turn into ‘Ahhh!’s). My dad was quite skeptical about me studying abroad, but I wanted to because I wanted to meet people from all over the world, live somewhere else, experience a different climate. (Abu Dhabi is a desert, it’s pretty much sunny all year round), be more independent and so I convinced my dad that I will be fine by myself and well, here I am! I’ve learned so much from being here and my English has certainly improved. One thing I love about Sheffield is that people here are so friendly, and I love it.


Right, so, Chemical Engineering. If you think it’s all about Chemistry, then you need to get your facts straight! Chemistry does play a small role, but it’s certainly not everything! Briefly, Chemical Engineering is about designing the processes and equipment which are inevitably used in industry every single day. From heat exchangers to distillation columns, to tanks, pumps and pipes. Since chemicals are usually used for these processes, a Chemical Engineer must also have knowledge in Chemistry in order to evaluate these substances and come up with the most optimum design for the chemical involved.

For instance, if you’re trying to design a tank to store, say, Hydrochloric acid, or HCl (a very corrosive acid), then you would find the best material to build the tank from, one that does not react with HCl and make that tank from that material. This is just the tip of the iceberg and there is more aspects to Chemical Engineering than that but I hope that the above gave you, dear readers, an insight.  


For my A-levels, I've done Chemistry, Maths and Biology. Choosing a course can be difficult if you have no idea what you want. For me, I knew I liked Maths and Science-related subjects in general. Narrowing it down, I came across Chemical Engineering. I've done quite a lot of research, went into forums and visited blogs to know what it is and some of the modules it contains. I was very interested in what I've read and I've decided it was the course for me! When choosing a course, it is important that YOU find it interesting and you’ll enjoy it, otherwise you’re not going to have as much fun.


I would have loved to give more elaborate more about my course and being an International student in Sheffield, but I have to go revise as exams are right around the corner. If you've got exams coming up soon as well, good luck to you!

Thanks for reading.
Tamara Hijazi