In the last few decades of the 20th century, chemical engineering graduates became increasingly involved in the development of new consumer products. The shift away from traditional process design activities, which dominate the manufacture of basic chemicals, coupled with the lack of education in product design, have left new chemical engineering graduates inadequately prepared for the challenge. To counter this, their employers have included them on new product-development teams, providing on-the-job training, through exposure to the art of developing new product as practiced by experienced engineers.

This presentation will address the necessity for teaching product design to chemical engineering students in the 21st century. The era of globalization and informatics has generated many forces that transformed the competition landscape in the newly developed global market. Speed to market is no longer a competitive advantage but rather a necessary condition to survive in the market place. The author will present a series of world trends and compelling needs from the perspective of an industrial practitioner, as well as challenges for the chemical engineering education community.