HOW TO ADDRESS THE CRISIS OF MINING ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN THE WESTERN WORLD?

Abstract

The difficulties experienced by many mining engineering departments in the western world are addressed and the most common causes of the problem discussed. It is shown that the poor public image of the mining industry and the financial difficulties experienced by the mining industry and many governments are the main reasons behind low student numbers and sub-critical mining engineering departments. Possible solutions to the problem of sub-critical student numbers and mining engineering departments are put forward. It is shown that the merger of mining engineering departments with other engineering department and the establishment of broader based study courses are no long term solutions to the problem of low numbers of mining engineering students and graduates. Industrial sponsorship, particularly research sponsorship, is vitally important for the continued existence of strong mining engineering departments. The establishment of networks between different mining engineering departments is seen as the most promising way of addressing the problem. Different concepts of establishing networks are discussed and examples of successful networks given. The possibilities offered by modern communication technologies have not been fully exploited by universities and should be pursued.