Reflections on interdisciplinarity and teaching chemical engineering on an interdisciplinary degree programme in biotechnology

• History and description of an unusual interdisciplinary undergraduate programme.
• Outline of epistemological and pedagogical challenges in interdisciplinary education.
• Outline of organisational and human resources challenges in interdisciplinary education.
• Outline of challenges faced when integrating chemical engineering with biology.

Some reflections on interdisciplinarity are presented based on the author's experience of more than twenty years teaching chemical and bioprocess engineering as a minor subject of an interdisciplinary programme in biotechnology. Key literature on interdisciplinary education is reviewed and some generic challenges faced in the delivery of interdisciplinary programmes are outlined. Finally, specific challenges faced by chemical engineers teaching chemical engineering as a minor component of an interdisciplinary programme are discussed. For an interdisciplinary programme to be successful, it needs to be designed and planned with great care, but also requires constant management and review to avoid the slide into unintended multidisciplinarity.