It was Engineering Week, an annual tradition for the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, where students embark on a hands-on group design project and put the knowledge they learned in class to tackle the real-world problem. For this time, they need to manufacture sugar from sugarcane, from crushing and purification to crystallization and design the whole factory system.

Over five days, students undertook a comprehensive project that transforms sugarcane into sugar through a series of integrated tasks. They began with a literature review to understand the industrial process, followed by hands-on juice extraction, purification, and molasses concentration using unit operations including filtration, clarification, evaporation, and drying. A key challenge involves selecting and testing flocculants by designing experiments to evaluate performance based on efficiency, safety, and cost—ultimately recommending the optimal choice for industrial scale. Students also designed and modeled a pump system to transport water over distance and elevation, applying fluid mechanics principles. The week culminated in a team presentation where they articulate their process decisions, technical rationale, and personal learning outcomes.

Students valued highly about the Engineering Week. As one student shared, “I enjoyed the thinking process when revising our plan the most. It was fascinating to see our ideas improve and break through again and again.” Another highlighted the satisfaction of hands-on creation: “I really enjoy tasting and observing my experimental results when the experiment is finished, as it gives a great sense of accomplishment.”

Bryan Audrian UTAMA, one of the international students from the class shares “Working with my Chinese teammates, we bonded by overcoming language barriers and engineering challenges. This immersive week gave me my first real taste of being an engineer, teaching me decisive decision-making and the true value of collaboration.”

In an age where AI can generate “perfect” answers, Engineering Week emphasises what technology cannot replace: critical decision-making and iterative problem-solving. Students used generative AI as a “learning partner”—for preliminary research or data visualization—but engineering judgments remained theirs to make. Faculty evaluated not the final product, but the reasoning behind each technical choice, from selecting flocculants to optimizing thermal efficiency.

“We are not teaching students how to use AI, we are guiding them to understand that no matter how powerful technology becomes, it can never replace reasoning grounded in scientific principles, understanding of real-world systems, deep collaboration within teams, and the persistence and creativity forged through failure. We are not training users of AI — we are cultivating the future leaders and decision-makers of engineering. ” explained the project lead.

This vision aligns with the University’s commitment in Education and Student Experience. Professor Jon Garibaldi’s recent statement at the 2025 World University Presidents Forum, Just as the computer revolution reshaped research methods, AI will improve efficiency in data analysis, academic writing, and collaborative communication. He called for urgent exploration within various disciplines to identify suitable AI applications and capabilities.

Supported by the university’s “UNNC AI” platform and a clear AI-use policy, the Faculty of Science and Engineering is redefining project-based learning for the intelligent age. Through challenges like sugar extraction, students build systemic thinking, teamwork, and adaptive skills—the core competencies that will allow them to thrive amid technological disruption.

As Engineering Week concluded, one idea stood clear: in preparing engineers for a world of AI, the human capacity to integrate knowledge, judge trade-offs, and create collaboratively has never been more essential.