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We are very pleased to be able to report that global energy company, Chevron, has selected The University of Western Australia to join its prestigious worldwide University Partnership Program (UPP).

The Chevron University Partnership Program is developed in conjunction with leading universities around the world such as MIT, Texas A&M University, Stanford University, Imperial College London and Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia to establish new programs, support faculty and provide student scholarships. The universities are selected on the basis of their excellent reputation, forward thinking and strong education programs. UWA is the only Australian university in the UPP, being one of 17 universities worldwide.

The initial three-year $2.3 million commitment from Chevron includes funding for a Chair in Natural Gas Process Engineering, two postdoctoral appointments and two PhD scholarships.

The timing of this partnership is perfect. UWA is currently developing Chemical Engineering as a major component of its UWA Engineering program, extending its previous expertise in Petroleum Process Engineering into a broader Chemical Engineering initiative, but with a continuing focus on oil and gas process engineering, fuels and energy. The new Chevron Chair will join a growing Chemical Engineering team and play a leading role in developing a comprehensive, world class capacity in natural gas process engineering in both teaching and research, which is very important to Western Australia. The establishment of this Chair follows closely on the heels of the appointment of distinguished Professor Dong-ke Zhang as Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director of the new Centre for Petroleum, Fuels and Energy.

Such industry-university partnerships are essential for the training of industry-ready professional engineers, and providing the research capabilities needed to meet community and industry expectations for innovation, safety and sustainability.