Mitsubishi Development (MDP) and The University of Queensland (UQ) have joined forces to create a new digital technologies curriculum for mining engineering students.
Resources Minister Scott Stewart said the collaboration is about Queensland’s future: future skills, future jobs, future resources investment across the state and growing regional economies.
“This partnership will see future mining engineering graduates excel in fields like automation, data analytics, and robotics.
“The resources sector is transforming, as the resources market transforms.
MDP has committed $750,000 over three years for a Future Mining Systems Initiative Director at UQ.
The director will develop and implement new curriculum focusing on digital technologies, integrated with UQ’s mining engineering offerings. The partnership will also facilitate UQ’s engagement with secondary school students.
Mitsubishi Development’s Chief Executive Officer, Sadahiko Haneji explained that not only is the demand for skilled mining engineers increasing year on year, but the traditional curriculum needs to fundamentally change along with the evolution of technology.
“Currently, there are too few graduating mining engineering students to meet industry demand,” Mr Haneji said.
“When we learned that mining engineering students currently make up only 2-5 per cent of the wider engineering enrolments at UQ, we knew that something different was needed in addition to typical scholarships and research grants.”
UQ Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Deborah Terry AO, said this initiative aimed to address the sector’s demand for highly skilled workers with a broad skillset, and an innovative mindset.
“We know that mining engineering students will still need the knowledge they gain from the traditional curriculum for the industry of the future,” Professor Terry explained.
“But they will also require additional elements, and it is not sufficient to simply add more content to the degree.”
This agreement follows the implementation of a new program and course structure by UQ’s Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology, allowing students to major in mining engineering while pursuing a specialisation in civil, mechanical, or mechatronic engineering.