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Uni of Adelaide joins national mining program

Wednesday, 18 February 2009

The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide today launches its membership of the unique mining education joint venture , promising benefits for students, the mining industry and the State.

Mining Education ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ (MEA) now provides common, industry-backed mining education in four ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n states.

The State Government announced it has granted $100,000 to the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide to support this initiative.

Minister for Mineral Resources Development Paul Holloway said the Government was strongly supportive of initiatives to develop skills for the expanding mining sector in South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥.

"South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥'s membership of MEA confirms this State's place as a leading national provider of university-level mining engineering education," he said.

The new partnership means the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide joins the , and the in providing a common curriculum to third and fourth year mining engineering students.

"Membership of Mining Education ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ is a major coup for the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide, for the South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n mining industry and for the State," says , Executive Dean of the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥'s .

"It signals national recognition of our mining degree program and brings South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ into a world-leading initiative in mining education. The MEA now covers mining regions throughout mainland ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ and it is believed to be the first national undergraduate degree program in ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥."

The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide's program started in 2007 and already has more than 200 students in first, second and third year.

MEA was formed as an unincorporated joint venture in 2006, funded by industry through the .

"It provides new opportunities for the mining industry, the SA economy and for South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n students and will help reduce the shortage of qualified professionals in the mining industry," says Professor Dowd.

"MEA students also have access to a much larger team of academics than any one university can offer. Students will benefit from this world-class education and the mining industry will benefit from the quality of graduates on offer."

The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥'s membership in MEA will be launched at a celebration at the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ this afternoon with MEA, university, government and mining representatives.

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