Towards Sustainable Mining in the Didactic Process—MEITIM Project as an Opportunity to Increase the Attractiveness of Mining Courses (A Case Study of Poland)

Abstract

Mining has been embedded in the public consciousness as a dirty, non-innovative, outdated and environmentally harmful industry. Proper education, especially the academic one, becomes crucial to successfully change this image. This article depicts the initial assumptions of the international project Master in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology Integration in Mining (MEITIM), co-financed by EIT Raw Materials, that aims to diagnose the current state of Polish higher education in the field of mining at, among others, the Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (WUST), concerning the experience of the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) and Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). The MEITIM project allowed identifying the directions of necessary changes in the didactic process as an indispensable set of skills and knowledge for a future mining graduate. Such activities are dictated by many guidelines and arrangements, among others, at the level of the European Commission or key industry institutions such as the International Council on Mining and Metals. These are key competencies that require significant changes in university curricula supporting sustainable development goals in innovative mining. The authors show that there is a link between the condition of the mining industry in Poland, its reputation, and the number of people who want to study mining.

A New Face of Mining Engineer—International Curricula to Sustainable Development and Green Deal (A Case Study of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology)

“…The article answers the steps to be taken to increase the attractiveness of the courses at WUST. As demonstrated by the statistics published in the paper of Adach et al [12], a change in the Faculty's teaching offer is necessary, because since the academic year 2017/2018 a significant decrease in the number of graduates of the course in mining and geology has been noted. It has been shown that there is a link between the condition of the mining industry in Poland, its reputation and the number of people who want to study in this field.…”

“…Having the experience from previously mentioned projects and analysing the newest reports on future mining, the authors realized that the minerals industry is facing a changing talent landscape [12], with digitization necessitating new skillsets, that technology cycles are getting shorter and shorter transmitting pressure in the need of trained workforce, and that mining companies need to ensure that their boards and staffs are properly constituted to support the transformations which the sector is currently undergoing, including fluency in such areas as technology, integration, systems security, and cybersecurity.…”

“…Insight into the mining courses offered by many universities worldwide shows that the academic sector is trying to keep up with mining trends and follow the idea of sustainable development [11]. Despite this, in previously published research [12], the authors presented a statistical analysis showing a decreasing number of mining studies students and graduates. Starting from the academic year 2015/2016, the number of students at Polish universities teaching mining and geology has decreased by approximately 50% in 2018/2019.…”

“…The article is an extension of the prior analysis [12], and aims to answer the question based on the case study of Wrocław University's of Science and Technology (WUST) activities. As a research method, the case study was chosen here as it is commonly used, especially in social, medical and environmental sciences [13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

Improving the Engineering Education in the Raw Materials Sector in an Advanced, Decarbonised, and Digital European Society

“…For many resource-rich nations, the role of the mining sector in catalysing innovation and supporting the achievement of the development agenda is paramount. National governments around the world continue to emphasize innovation as a critical path not only to secure their economic goals but also to ensure social progress and environmental sustainability [11]. This is increasingly relevant, as global trends continue to put pressure on governments to become more forward-looking around critical issues such as globalization, climate change, population growth, emerging economies, environmental stewardship, inequality, and social benefits.…”