FKKT

Main Objectives
Chemical Technology represents a link between natural and mathematical sciences and engineering sciences. One of the characteristics of this programme is that it focuses on practical work of students in a wide range of positions in the industry, research institutions, administrative bodies, and elsewhere.

The reform and modernisation of the study programme has been conditioned by external factors, i.e. EU directives and directives of the Republic of Slovenia for higher education, as well as internal factors. The latter include the need for continuous modernisation of higher education programmes as a response to the dynamic changes in the development of chemistry and chemical industrial production as well as the related fields of pharmacy, materials, etc. Changes are necessary also due to the increased concern for environmental protection and higher safety requirements in the transport and production of various chemicals, etc.  In light of all that, the programme is a combination of fundamental chemical knowledge and applied, technological, and engineering knowledge.

The higher professional study programme in Chemical Technology provides students with a foundation of knowledge necessary for quickly integrating in positions in the above mentioned fields with solid background in:
- General knowledge (Mathematics, Statistics, Physics);
- Knowledge from the field of Chemistry (general, inorganic, organic, physical, and analytical chemistry);
- Knowledge from the field of Chemical Engineering, Technology and Industrial Chemistry;
- Knowledge necessary for responsible environmental management and occupational safety with hazardous substances and in the production of chemicals.

The programme in Chemical Technology is designed to develop abilities that are necessary for applicative work such as:

- Ability to transfer and use general laws from natural sciences and engineering in the professional and applicative field;
- Ability to solve problems in different fields from the more fundamental laboratory level to technical and technological levels;
- Ability to upgrade their knowledge and engage in further training through lifelong learning;
- Ability of organised individual work as well as the ability to work in a team, communicate within the company or organisation as well as establish connections with the broader Slovenian and international professional community.

The candidates will acquire these abilities and competencies through a modern programme that combines conventional forms of education in general and specialist courses with a lot of practical and project work. In their assignments, the students will use modern information technologies, process and evaluate the results, and prepare reports to present their achievements to the faculty staff, invited professionals from the industry, and their colleagues, thus gaining additional experience for their professional work after the completion of studies.

General competencies acquired through the programme:
•    Broad professional knowledge acquired through the study of theoretical and engineering/technological content;
•    Ability to apply theoretical knowledge and transfer it to practice;
•    Ability to understand the interdependence between the fundamental laws of natural sciences and technical implementation in industrial systems;
•    Ability to experiment, collect relevant data on an experiment or process, and evaluate the results;
•    Initiative and independence necessary for decision-making and for managing complex tasks, laboratories, or industrial plants;
•    Ability to join and work in teams;
•    Ability to communicate with colleagues and professionals from other disciplines in order to be able to participate in multidisciplinary projects;
•    Ability to communicate in the professional community in the Slovenian and international area;
•    Ability to keep track of professional and scientific literature from own field of expertise and to transfer the findings to practice;
•    Sense of professional ethical and environmental responsibility;
•    Ability to cooperate in designing new safer and environmentally friendlier processes;
•    Ability to safely handle chemicals and see to their safe production;
•    Ability of independent learning in own field of expertise.

•    Professional knowledge acquired through the study of theoretical and methodological concepts from the fields of general courses, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Technology, Biotechnology, and Engineering;
•    Understanding the composition of substances, their close relationship with the properties of substances and materials;
•    Knowledge of inorganic and organic systematics;
•    Knowledge of the fundamentals of chemical reactions, their thermodynamics and kinetics;
•    Knowledge and the ability to use various procedures for the analysis and characterisation of substances from simple analyses to complex instrumental methods;
•    Knowledge of the basic synthesis routes in organic and inorganic chemistry;
•    Ability of safe and high-quality work in the laboratory, including knowledge of laboratory equipment and corresponding laboratory techniques;
•    Awareness of the problems occurring during transfer from the laboratory level to the pilot and industrial level;
•    Knowledge of the basic types of industrial processes (catalysis, processing of mineral resources, electrochemical processes, high temperature processes, cryogenics, and other processes in technical gases, polymerisation and processing of plastics) and industrial problem-solving methods;
•    Awareness of the problems concerning industrial process resources, their enrichment and processing;
•    Knowledge of the fundamentals of energy in industrial processes and rational use of energy;
•    Knowledge of the effects and interdependences between resources and energy, technological process and the environment, and possibilities of reducing these effects;
•    Ability to transfer and apply theoretical knowledge to practice and to solve problems;
•    Ability to work in and manage industrial plants in the chemical and processing industries;
•    Ability to use sophisticated laboratory equipment, instruments, and devices;
•    Knowledge of processes, work methods, and conditions for ensuring successful process operability;
•    Management of supervisory, analytical, and similar activities and management of laboratories engaging in these activities;
•    Knowledge of occupational safety in laboratories and the ability to cooperate in the preparation of risk assessments;
•    Knowledge and the ability to meet the requirements for first employment in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and related industries.

Enrolment in the study programme in Chemical Technology is available to candidates who have passed the Matura exam, passed the Vocational Matura exam following any secondary school programme, completed any four-year secondary school programme.

There are 70 enrolment slots for full-time study, 14 enrolment slots for foreign NON EU nationals, 2 slots for Slovenians without Slovenian citizenship and 2 enrolment slots for parallel studies. Should the number of candidates exceed the number of enrolment slots, enrolment restrictions shall apply.

In case of limited enrolment, candidates will be chosen with regard to:
- their general academic performance in the Matura exam or Vocational Matura exam or the final examination (60 % of points);
- their general academic performance in the 3rd and 4th year of secondary school (40% of points).

The knowledge that the student has previously acquired through various forms of education may be recognised if it corresponds to the study content of the courses taught in the programme in Chemical Technology. The recognition of previously acquired knowledge and skills is subject to the decision of the FKKT Study Committee. The student should submit a written application and provide certificates and other documents evidencing the successfully acquired knowledge and adequate content.
The Study Committee shall consider the following criteria when deciding on the recognition of knowledge acquired prior to enrolment:

- Adequacy of admission requirements for the programme (required education necessary for admission to the programme);
- Comparability of the scope of the programme (number of hours of prior education with regard to the scope of the course) to be recognised,
- Adequacy of content of the programme with regard to the content of the course to be recognised.

Previously acquired knowledge can be recognised if admission requirements for the previous programme were similar to the admission requirements for the programme in Chemical Technology, if at least 75% of the scope of the course is covered by prior education, and if at least 75% of the teaching content correspond to the course to be recognised. If the Study Committee establishes that previously acquired knowledge may be recognised, this is allocated the same number of ECTS credits as for the course.                               

In order to advance to the next year of studies, the student needs to have the teacher’s signature certifying enrolment and attendance for all courses in a particular year. Furthermore, these additional transition requirements shall be met:

•    The candidate has to accumulate 60 credits to advance to the second year.
•    In order to advance to the third year, the candidate has to fulfil all obligations from the first year (60 credits) and accumulate 60 credits from the second year.

The FKKT Study Committee may exceptionally approve advancement to the next year to a student who has obtained a minimum of 50 ECTS credits in the previous year, if the student can provide justified reasons. Justified reasons are stipulated by the Statutes of the University of Ljubljana.
Progression from the 1st to the 2nd year may exceptionally be granted if the candidate lacks 10 credits (two exams) but not Mathematics with Statistics, Physics, and General Chemistry.
Progression from the 2nd to the 3rd year may exceptionally be granted if the candidate lacks 10 credits (two exams) but not Physical Chemistry I, and Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering.

Students may reenrol in the same year if they have obtained 30 credits required for that particular year.

Students may repeat a study year once during their studies or change the study programme once due to failure to fulfil the obligations under the previous study programme.

After the 3rd year, the student may be granted a prolongation of the student status by one year if they can provide justifiable reasons (Statutes of the University of Ljubljana) and have fulfilled all the requirements from the first two years.

Supervisors of the study programme and tutors are responsible for offering counselling and advising students on selecting their electives.
 

Course Syllabus VS Chemical Technology

In order to complete the first-cycle studies, the student has to fulfil study obligations in all courses of the programme, fulfil obligations totalling 180 ECTS credits, and prepare and successfully defend their diploma thesis in accordance with the Rules on Diploma Theses adopted by the Senate of the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology of the University of Ljubljana.

For students who wish to transfer from other study programmes, the Study Committee, on the basis of a written application and certificate of passed exams in the previous programme, defines the year into which they can enrol and additional exams they have to take.

Student performance in individual courses is assessed by knowledge testing for each individual course. Assessment and testing are carried out in the form of oral and written exams, preliminary exams, seminar and project papers. The forms and methods of assessment and student obligations are set out by the syllabi for individual courses. Other forms of continuous assessment are determined by the syllabi and form a component of the final grade. Assessment and grading procedures are regulated by the Rules on Study and Examinations of the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology of the University of Ljubljana, which have been adopted by the Senate of the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology of the University of Ljubljana.

The grading scale for final exams and other types of knowledge assessment:
10 = exceptional knowledge with negligible faults
9 = outstanding knowledge but showing some faults
8 = solid knowledge
7 = good knowledge but showing some major faults
6 = knowledge meeting minimum criteria
5 = knowledge not meeting minimum criteria

The grades from the grading scale are translated into ECTS grades as follows:
10 = A
9 = B
8 = C
7 = D
6 = E
5 = F (fail)