Tertiary Education in Sustainable Resource Extraction
As the world's population grows and prosperity increases, so does the demand for mineral raw materials. The European Green Deal aims to drive the transition to a modern, resource-efficient and competitive European economy. In this context, the availability and responsible production of mineral raw materials plays a crucial role in the energy transition. Commodity markets are often unpredictable, making the challenges of resource identification and extraction even more complex. In addition, environmental awareness is growing and the world expects raw materials to be extracted in a responsible and sustainable manner. To achieve this, the demand for professionals in this field is growing.
The mining industry needs well-trained graduates and future professionals to meet the challenges described above. Mining and mineral resources programs across Europe are facing similar challenges: Student numbers are declining and it is difficult to offer the full range of relevant subjects at one's own university. To address these educational challenges, the TERRA project is working to develop innovative learning and teaching methods and to foster collaboration between universities. The existing structures and experiences of the three project partners of the European Mining Courses (EMC) and the Federation of European Mineral Programs (FEMP) serve as a solid basis.
The TERRA project will deliver a series of results and actions to address the above challenges:
- TERRA will establish an Academic Expert Network, bringing together the key players in European mineral resources education.
- TERRA will host the 1st European Conference on Teaching and Research in Sustainable Resource Extraction.
- TERRA will create a database for students, providing a central information space on European mineral resources education and opportunities.
- TERRA will create and run a summer school for students interested in the sustainable and responsible supply of tomorrow's society with mineral resources.
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The TERRA project will establish an Academic Expert Network.
This network aims to connect key members of the European mineral resources and mining education community. Besides the TERRA consortium consisting of RWTH Aachen, MU Leoben and Aalto University, other relevant parties dedicated to current challenges in the mining industry will be invited.
In the future, the network will be open to all interested parties.
Database
The TERRA project aims to attract qualified future decision-makers to the European mineral resources industry.
The key to any young person's decision about their future career path is a sound information base. Therefore, a comprehensive database has been created and published on this website to provide students with information on career and educational opportunities throughout Europe.
Conference
The TERRA conference in September 2023 brought together over 70 mining researchers and educators from Europe to share their achievements, challenges and aspirations, and to facilitate networking among European mining academics.
The TERRA conference discussed challenges on how the European higher education sector engages with students and society, provides educational programs, trains professionals, and conducts research and innovation.
Find further information on the conference website www.terra.rwth-aachen.de
Introduction
A summer school has been established as a joint module of the three partner universities and will be open to external participants. The content focuses on sustainable and responsible sourcing of mineral raw materials. The first module of the summer school started in August 2023 at Aalto University.
So far, the curriculum consists of for modules:
- Sustainable rock drilling and blasting technique
- Remote rock mass characterization
- Mining and energy
- Occupational and process safety in mining