Professional opportunities

Graduates may find employment in any of the areas that constitute the paper industry and the printing and paper handling industry, from research into raw materials to digital printing finishes on paper substrates, including the processing of fibres and the manufacture of paper, cardboard and complex by-products.

This wide range of sectors is justified by the fact that the degree encompasses all aspects of the process, from the raw material to the final product that reaches the market (raw materials, fibre production, paper production, paper recycling, printing industry, paper converting).

Future graduates may also find work in a variety of industries related to the paper industry, such as the manufacture and marketing of chemical products, the manufacture of felts and other textiles and the manufacture of printing components such as inks and toners.

They will have a wide range of opportunities in the paper, graphics and related fields, in which they will be able to occupy positions with quite different profiles: production heads, designers, product quality managers, research specialists, heads of development and innovation in paper and printing processes and products, technical and commercial support staff, in-company environmental specialists, etc.

Competencies

Generic competencies

Generic competencies are the skills that graduates acquire regardless of the specific course or field of study. The generic competencies established by the UPC are capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship, sustainability and social commitment, teamwork, proper use of information resources, knowledge of a foreign language (preferably English) and gender perspective.

Specific competencies

To identify and assess raw materials and intermediate and final products in the field of paper and graphics technology.
To analyse and apply unit operations and manufacturing process systems within the field of the degree.
To apply environmental and sustainability technologies within the field of degree.
To select and assess sources of vegetable fibres that are appropriate for the manufacture of paper products that have specific technical characteristics.
To select and assess the auxiliary products that are most suitable for material processes and for developing new properties of materials in papermaking and printing processes.
To analyse and assess, in theoretical and experimental terms, the specific structural, physical, mechanical and optical properties of materials in papermaking and printing.
To develop types of paper, supports and other paper products in view of the specifications that must be met and their specific technical applications.
To carry out and present and defend before an examination committee an original, individual piece of work consisting of a study or project of a professional or research nature that synthesises the competencies acquired on the master’s degree.