Research and education in analytical chemistry — industrial and academic perspectives from a survey conducted in Sweden
(2023) In Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 415(12). p.2151-2161- Abstract
- Analytical chemistry is a sub-discipline of chemistry that even young schoolchildren encounter at an early stage in their education. Gravimetry and measurement uncertainties are aspects that form a part of such education, as well as measurements of pH and colorimetry. These are all an integral part of children’s early educational experiences, which shows the importance of this discipline within the wider context of natural science.
In Sweden, there are 16 universities (not counting university colleges), all of which offer courses or classes in analytical chemistry. There is also a longstanding and strong industry in pharmaceutical and fine chemical research and development, where competence in analytical chemistry is essential.... (More) - Analytical chemistry is a sub-discipline of chemistry that even young schoolchildren encounter at an early stage in their education. Gravimetry and measurement uncertainties are aspects that form a part of such education, as well as measurements of pH and colorimetry. These are all an integral part of children’s early educational experiences, which shows the importance of this discipline within the wider context of natural science.
In Sweden, there are 16 universities (not counting university colleges), all of which offer courses or classes in analytical chemistry. There is also a longstanding and strong industry in pharmaceutical and fine chemical research and development, where competence in analytical chemistry is essential. There has been a growing concern that the subject of analytical chemistry is losing ground to other disciplines, or rather, losing ground without any other discipline filling the gaps. Many universities, not only in Sweden, have stopped giving or substantially reduced giving courses in analytical chemistry in relation to other subjects, e.g. from 43.5 ECTS in 2010 to 32 ECTS in 2022 at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and from 75 ECTS in 2007 to 30 ECTS in 2022 at Lund University, Faculty of Science (Faculty of Engineering; from 22.5 to 15 ECTS during the same time period). (ECTS, The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System). It has in parallel become increasingly difficult for industry to recruit competent analytical chemists [1, 2]. For university researchers, it has become harder to obtain external funding for fundamental research in analytical chemistry, and one often heard opinion is that analytical chemistry is considered mainly as a “tool” for other disciplines. A concept best described as “analytics” is taking shape, meaning that chemical analysis is becoming a “black box” operation — sample in, data out. Perhaps popular crime series have perpetuated the idea of analytical chemistry being a method-only discipline and that it should be quick and easy. These assumptions of analytical chemistry as a ready-to-use tool may be further strengthened by the use of advanced chemical analyses in other disciplines, which is natural and once again emphasises that the analytical chemistry of today is very different from what it used to be.
The Analytical Chemistry Division of the Swedish Chemical Society has initiated a think tank focused on “what analytical chemistry is”, and whether this has changed over the years, or at least if scientists outside the field have a different opinion on this matter than the analytical chemists themselves. The question is: who are the analytical chemists in Sweden, and what are our work tasks as analytical chemists? What type of analytical chemistry do we teach, and does this correspond well with industry demand? Is the subject and definition of analytical chemistry changing with time? Is this change unavoidable and necessary for the adaption to society in general and the scientific map specifically? How can we best collaborate with other disciplines?
This article presents the outcome of a survey conducted in Sweden, targeting especially the analytical chemists at universities, government institutes, and industry, as well as other non-analytical chemists. (Less)
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https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/09bdbb20-19e2-4280-b055-fba38614707a
- author
- Bergquist, Jonas ; Emmer, Åsa ; Farbrot, Anne LU and Turner, Charlotta LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry
- volume
- 415
- issue
- 12
- pages
- 11 pages
- publisher
- Springer
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:36991109
- scopus:85152043283
- ISSN
- 1618-2642
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00216-023-04661-3
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 09bdbb20-19e2-4280-b055-fba38614707a
- date added to LUP
- 2023-07-12 16:02:00
- date last changed
- 2024-04-19 23:20:08
@misc{09bdbb20-19e2-4280-b055-fba38614707a,
abstract = {{Analytical chemistry is a sub-discipline of chemistry that even young schoolchildren encounter at an early stage in their education. Gravimetry and measurement uncertainties are aspects that form a part of such education, as well as measurements of pH and colorimetry. These are all an integral part of children’s early educational experiences, which shows the importance of this discipline within the wider context of natural science.<br/><br/>In Sweden, there are 16 universities (not counting university colleges), all of which offer courses or classes in analytical chemistry. There is also a longstanding and strong industry in pharmaceutical and fine chemical research and development, where competence in analytical chemistry is essential. There has been a growing concern that the subject of analytical chemistry is losing ground to other disciplines, or rather, losing ground without any other discipline filling the gaps. Many universities, not only in Sweden, have stopped giving or substantially reduced giving courses in analytical chemistry in relation to other subjects, e.g. from 43.5 ECTS in 2010 to 32 ECTS in 2022 at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and from 75 ECTS in 2007 to 30 ECTS in 2022 at Lund University, Faculty of Science (Faculty of Engineering; from 22.5 to 15 ECTS during the same time period). (ECTS, The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System). It has in parallel become increasingly difficult for industry to recruit competent analytical chemists [1, 2]. For university researchers, it has become harder to obtain external funding for fundamental research in analytical chemistry, and one often heard opinion is that analytical chemistry is considered mainly as a “tool” for other disciplines. A concept best described as “analytics” is taking shape, meaning that chemical analysis is becoming a “black box” operation — sample in, data out. Perhaps popular crime series have perpetuated the idea of analytical chemistry being a method-only discipline and that it should be quick and easy. These assumptions of analytical chemistry as a ready-to-use tool may be further strengthened by the use of advanced chemical analyses in other disciplines, which is natural and once again emphasises that the analytical chemistry of today is very different from what it used to be.<br/><br/>The Analytical Chemistry Division of the Swedish Chemical Society has initiated a think tank focused on “what analytical chemistry is”, and whether this has changed over the years, or at least if scientists outside the field have a different opinion on this matter than the analytical chemists themselves. The question is: who are the analytical chemists in Sweden, and what are our work tasks as analytical chemists? What type of analytical chemistry do we teach, and does this correspond well with industry demand? Is the subject and definition of analytical chemistry changing with time? Is this change unavoidable and necessary for the adaption to society in general and the scientific map specifically? How can we best collaborate with other disciplines?<br/><br/>This article presents the outcome of a survey conducted in Sweden, targeting especially the analytical chemists at universities, government institutes, and industry, as well as other non-analytical chemists.}},
author = {{Bergquist, Jonas and Emmer, Åsa and Farbrot, Anne and Turner, Charlotta}},
issn = {{1618-2642}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{12}},
pages = {{2151--2161}},
publisher = {{Springer}},
series = {{Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry}},
title = {{Research and education in analytical chemistry — industrial and academic perspectives from a survey conducted in Sweden}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00216-023-04661-3}},
doi = {{10.1007/s00216-023-04661-3}},
volume = {{415}},
year = {{2023}},
}