NETWORKING AND COLLABORATIONS

IN MINING ENGINEERING EDUCATION

Gülhan Özbayoğlu
Atilim University, Faculty of Engineering, Ankara, Turkey
gulhan@atilim.edu.tr

Abstract
Mining Engineering education is in trouble. Mining schools are in decline all over the world. In U.S.A., Japan,
and UK, most of the Mining Engineering programs are now either covered as an option in Civil Engineering,
Environmental Engineering or Earth Sciences or as in the case of Europe, networking and collaborations between
the universities were established to take advantage of the strength and specializations of individual schools to
complement others.
In contrast to the world trend, Mining Engineering programs in Turkey continue to increase. The education
system is based on a traditional passive, lecture based learning. Only two Mining Engineering programs (METU
and ITU) were evaluated by ABET and they were fully accredited. Unfortunately, there are some diversities
between the Mining Engineering programs of actual 20 departments in Turkey. This undesired level of diversity
is severe, mainly, for establishing some specialized mining areas, such as mine ventilation, mine valuation and of
interdisciplinary programs that have not been a part of the traditional curriculum.
In this paper, the problems and trends in mining engineering education are discussed and applications of networking
and collaboration are presented.
Keywords: Mining Engineering Education, curriculum development, networking and collaborations, online
learning

1. Introduction
In the last 10 years, there has been a shift from engineering sciences all over the world towards law and
medicine. The situation varies from country to country, but the trend is clear. The rank of Mining Engineering is the
lowest among other engineering areas. Young people are not willing to choose the field as it lost its dignity. There
is the continuing awareness of and concern about the negative image of the mining industry because of the terrible
images of mine disasters, negative impact of mining activities on environment and human health, difficult working
conditions, low salaries, pressure of the communities in mining areas. In most industrial countries, mining is no
longer a dominant industry and many of the undergraduate programs in North America and Western Europe are in
decline and most mining graduates work in fields not related to minerals (McDivitt, 2002). One should consider
how to inspire young people to study mining engineering, how to engage and retain students in their studies and
continue to train the mining engineers of the future professionally. On the other hand, today’s mining engineer is
very different from that of even a decade ago, and a great change can be expected in the next decade.
The purpose of this paper is to impact problems and trends in Mining Engineering education and to present
networking and collaboration applications between the universities.

1.1. Mining Engineering Education in the World

Mining Engineering education has been in trouble for almost three decades (High Beam Research,2004). Many
historical mining schools have terminated their minerals programs or are being absorbed into broader fields of
Engineering Education (McDivitt, 2002). Over the past decade, the number of Mining Engineering programs in
the UK has fallen from 10 to 2 (Leeds and Camborn School of Mines) and in the last five years, programs in the
US have fallen from 27 to 15 (McCarter, 2007). New Zeland no longer has a mining school (Laurence). However,
Australia continues to have a high demand for mining engineers.
On the other hand, in developing countries where mining is a major contributor to the economy, Mining
Engineering is still an important field of study in the universities. In Eastern Europe and China, universities
continue to be devoted to the mineral industry, and enrolment is not a great problem. For example, the National

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Mining University of the Ukraine has separate departments of underground mining, mineral dressing, mine and
underground construction, drilling, mine surveying, geology, mine equipment and ecology. In China, the technical
universities are affiliated with ministries such as the Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources or the Ministry
of Coal Mining Industry or the Corporation for Non-Ferrous Metal Production. The China University of Mining
and Technology in Jiangsu, Xuzhou, is one of several universities that come under the ministry in charge of coal
production. China even has one university dedicated to gold mining, and another dedicated to mining medicine
each of these universities has programs designed for the industry it represents. Similar differences in approach can
be assumed to exist at universities in Europe and the United States, and, for example, courses at the University of
Kentucky or West Virginia will reflect the needs of the coal industry while those at the University of Nevada or
Arizona give more emphasis to hard rock mining.

1.2. Mining Engineering Education in Turkey

In contrast to the world trend, Mining Engineering programs in Turkey continue to increase in number
considerably fast and there is a surplus supply of graduates whose numbers are far beyond the demand. There
are 20 Mining Engineering departments which accept 31 to 72 students each year. Besides, second programs are
provided by nine departments. National supply of graduates of these 29 Mining Engineering programs is around
800 per year which is more than demand. As a result, opening new mining programs not only increases the rate of
unemployment in the country, but also decreases the respect of the Mining Engineering field.
While some changes in the programs have taken place, e.g. addition of introduction to mineral industry,
engineering ethics, capstone design courses, the mining education in Turkey is generally based on a traditional,
passive, lecture-based learning in which students sit passively, waiting to be filled up by the lecturer’s knowledge.
Although, the core courses in mining engineering programs for the 1st and 2nd years are largely identical; the
programs of 3rd and 4th years with the same title may vary in content. There are some diversity between them
due to the difficulties in finding academicians in certain specialization areas. However, no national or international
network and collaboration are established to solve this problem.
In Turkey, two Mining Engineering departments (METU and I.T.U.) Undergraduate programs were evaluated
by ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) and judged to be fully accredited programs.
Besides, three programs have been accreditated by the national accreditation organization MÜDEK (Association
for Evaluation and Accreditation of Engineering Programs).
In 2003, Dokuz Eylül University revised their undergraduate Mining Engineering program with a radical
change which was based on modular staged problem based active learning system. In this system, students’
participation was increased by placing them at the center of learning system in order to solve a real engineering
problem. Activities in modules were planned so that each student could develop higher thinking, perform team
work and acquire leadership skills. This interactive system had continued up to 2009, and then a return to the
passive system was experienced (Güzeliş, 2006).

2. Common Problems in Mining Engineering Education

In most of the universities, the rank of Mining Engineering is the lowest among other engineering areas (e.g.
based on scores in the nationwide student and placement examination in 2010, the minimum scores of the students
who enter METU Mining Engineering department which is the most popular department in Turkey was 422.653,
while it was 539.358 for Electrical Engineering Department (Özbayoğlu, 2011). This big difference in the rankings
is a serious threat for the development of the Mining Engineering departments, since the support, funding and
budgeting provided by the university administration diminishes due to this perception of being less respected.
A serious problem in Mining Engineering departments is the retention of good students at the undergraduate
level in the department. Good students are less interested in fully academic positions in the country because of the
high salaries in industry and extreme competition for person­nel.
Most of the Mining Engineering departments have faced persistent shortage of current and potential future
academicians in certain specialization areas, such as, mine ventilation, valuation, mine mechanization. However,
there is no foreseeable increase in completed PhD’s so far in these areas.
The imminent retirement of aging of academicians in the workforce in Mining Engineering departments is
becoming a problem. The departments are at risk of not being able to carry out their missions or deliver services
because of the chronic shortage of mining academicians. Staff numbers continue to age and decline. Massive
retirement in most of the developed Mining Engineering departments is expected and this trend does not seem to
change in the foreseeable future.

RESTRUCTURING ENGINEERING EDUCATION CURRICULUM 65

3. Developments of the Mining Engineering Curriculum
Mining Engineers of the future would need additional skills that have not been part of the traditional curriculum.
This extra responsibility requires an additional educational component beyond the traditional training received in
the past. As Mining Engineering is highly interdisciplinary, its curriculum leaves little room for options and
increase in the technical content. The integration of new additional courses to program results in excessive loads on
students. On the other hand, the curriculum is under pressure to maintain the demands of accreditation authorities.
In 1960’s, curriculum consisted of courses of basic engineering, earth sciences, mechanics, electricity, survey,
ventilation, safety and rescue, exploration and exploitation methods, rock mechanics, mineral processing and
mine valuation and management. In 1970’s, computer applications and waste management were included into the
curriculum. In 1980’s, legislation, mineral processing plant and mine design gained importance. In 1990’s, risk
assessment, automation, public images and environmental issues were introduced (Karmis et al, 2009).
During the improvement of the mining engineering curriculum, collaboration with the industry advisory
group is needed and new teaching tools should be used. A variety of instructional methods shown to the students
are the tasks of equipping students with problem-solving, communication, teamwork, self-assessment, change
management and lifelong learning skills. Academicians are expected not to transmit knowledge; but to equip the
students with necessary critical skills which will enable them to succeed as professionals and responsible members
of society. These goals are consistent with The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)
Engineering Criteria 2000.
Mining Engineering curriculum started having an increasing interest in social responsibility. Environmental
considerations and ethics are now built into most mining programs. Global warming, CO2 capturing and
sequestration, water and energy conservation have been added into the curriculum. In addition, design, computer,
economics and social sciences are now an accepted part of any four-year degree. Besides, graduates in Mining
Engineering have to be aware of learning and teaching methods with an emphasis on lifelong learning and they
must be able to work as part of a team and expected to be creative, innovative, naturally inquisitive, precise, and
analytical. Written and oral communication skills are important to collaboration on projects that may involve many
professionals from other disciplines.
Australia and Canada have pioneered in teaching, learning methods and using advanced technologies in mining
education.

4. Trends in Mining Engineering Education (collaborative programs)

Mining Engineering is highly interdisciplinary, having room for various scientific and engineering degrees in its
ranks, as well as opportunities for advancement in government and corporate capacities. As mineral development
becomes more complex, the mining engineer sees advantage in knowing more than Mining Engineering, and
programs are being developed to meet this need.
Most of the mining programs have been merged into other departments. Mining Engineering is now taught as
an option or as a minor in Civil or Environmental Engineering program rather than in a dedicated department, and
mineral related subjects are no longer part of the core (McDivitt, 2002).
In Japan, mining is now taught in a series of courses in Resource Engineering. At the Henry Krumb School of
Mines at Columbia University, the first to be established in America, Mining Engineering is now taught under the
title of Earth and Environmental Engineering with a very limited enrolment. At the Pennsylvania State University,
Mining Engineering is still taught, but in the Department of Energy and Geo-Environmental Engineering. At
Michigan Tech, the Department of Mining and Materials Processing Engineering is in the process of being
dismantled, with mining going to geology and materials processing to Chemical Engineering.
The Royal School of Mines in London became a part of the T.H. Huxley School of Environment, Earth Science
and Engineering, but in August 2001, the Huxley School and its mining program were essentially eliminated due
to limited response. Consideration is being given to retaining a Master’s Degree program in Mining Engineering
as part of the European Mining Course.
There is interest in collaborative programs in which students or professors rotate among participating schools
that serve as Centers of Excellence in a selected field – rock mechanics, ventilation, etc. The potential of web-
based courses, e-Learning, distance learning, virtual universities, the need for more double degrees in which
mining and commerce or mining and business might be attractive options. Joint degrees in mining and commerce
are of interest.

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 A networking of Australian mining schools has been proposed with three Centers of Excellences at the
University of New South Wales, The Western Australia School of Mines and the University of Queensland. It is
recommended that participating universities develop and share modules of undergraduate teaching materials, and
collaborate with MTEC to build a world class learning environment.
In 1990, in order to optimize and enhance the quality of education in Europe, innovation was considered
necessary, and it was decided to send last year mining students to Imperial College’s Royal School of Mines
in London. In 1996, the European Mining Course-a joint curriculum during the final year was organized. The
program was strongly supported by industry (more than 30 multinational companies). A choice of internships and
job opportunities were offered to participating EU and non EU students.
Networking and collaboration between mining schools and universities is a way to take advantage of the
strengths and specializations of individual schools, by forming a larger group within which schools complement
each other. Students were required to travel between mining schools and universities and experience different
teaching, working and cultural environments. Federation of European Mining Programs (FEMP) among RWTH
Aachen/ Germany, Delft University of Technology/ Netherlands, Camborn School of Mines/ UK, Helsinki
University of Technology/ Finland, University of Miscolc/ Hungary, and Wroclaw University of Technology/
Poland is one of the examples of that kind of networking. The programs include three 2-year M.Sc programs in
Mining, Geotechnical and Environmental Engineering (McDivitt, 2002; Karmis et al, 2008).
The Canadian Mining Education Council, established in 2000, developed to network the schools so that they
complement rather than compete with one another. This may end up with a structure like the European Mining
Course in which schools are selectively strengthened in special areas, e.g. mineral processing or mine ventilation
or rock mechanics, and students rotate among the schools.
Globally Employable Mining Engineer (GEME) program operated by the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) is
an undergraduate program that networks four mining schools include Colorado School of Mines-USA, University
of Witwatersrand- South Africa, Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile-Chile and Pontifica Universidad Catolica
del Peru-Peru. Students are encouraged to spend at least a semester at one of the other participating mining schools.
A unique collaboration among the Sandvik International Mining School and six international mining universities
(Mining University of Leoben/Austria, University of South Wales/Australia, Helsinki University of Technology/
Finland, Camborn School of Mines/ UK, Colorado School of Mines/ USA, University of Witwatersrand/ South
Africa) is an example of industry sponsored development of courses tailored to company requirements.

5. Online Learning
What is learnt at university may not be enough to keep graduates “educated” throughout our working lives. An
engineer needs to plan for continual self-education if he/she wishes to continue to practice in this rapidly changing
career. Many engineers take distance-learning courses after graduation. Online education is more time-efficient
and cost-efficient than the traditional classroom teaching. It minimizes the need for travel and time away from the
job and allows participants to complete the program in their own time (Houlding, 2011).
There are several universities worldwide offering Online Mining Engineering Degrees for both graduates as
well as working professionals. One of the first examples of online Master of Engineering in Mining program was
offered by the University of Missouri-Rolla (McDivitt, 2002). This has been available since 2001. The list of
top universities offering Online Mining Engineering Degrees includes The University of Exeter, Michigan Tech,
University of Kentucky, Colorado School of Mines, Michigan Technological University and Montana Tech of the
University of Montana among others.
There are also a number of institutions in India offering Online Mining Engineering Degrees at the graduate
and post graduate levels.
The UBC Certificate of Mining Studies program is an example of industry focused continuing education which
has been developed as a collaborative effort of the University of British Columbia, the Canadian Institute of
Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) and EduMine, the professional development division of InfoMine Inc.
The program has been in operation for 5 years (Houlding, 2011).
The University of Pretoria’s Department of Mining Engineering, South Africa reported it was currently in the
final stage of converting all its undergraduate paper-based mining subjects to instructionally designed modules.
This conversion was part of the department’s move to include non-technical or soft skills, as part of its new
approach to education in Mining Engineering (Gaskell, 2011).
The converted modules will comprise electronic, interactive course notes including videos, animations, photos,

RESTRUCTURING ENGINEERING EDUCATION CURRICULUM 67

mouse-overs and cross-links to improve students’ abilities to acquire and apply their knowledge of the mining
industry. About 60% of the 11 mining engineering subjects have been converted and, by January 2012, all subjects
will be taught with the instructional-design courseware.

6. Conclusions
Mining Engineering has the lowest rank among the other engineering fields. Unemployment, instability in
mining industry, difficult working conditions, terrible mining disasters and negative impression of the public are
some of the reasons for this fact. On the other hand, mining education has been changing in last decade. Most
of the programs have been terminated or merged into other departments or established regional collaborations
in both developed and developing countries. Under these conditions, universities should develop their Mining
Engineering programs by improving learning and teaching methods to meet the requirements of the industry and
public. What is far more challenging is the task of equipping students with problem-solving, communicative,
social, self-assessing and lifelong learning skills.
Unlike what happens in other parts of the world, Turkey has a surplus of mining programs and mining students.
The mining education is generally based on a traditional, passive, lecture-based learning. The qualities of mining
engineering programs in Turkey vary widely due to the shortage of academicians in certain specialization areas,
such as, mine ventilation, valuation, and mine mechanization. The gap between the qualities of graduates in the
mining engineering programs has been enlarging and this trend does not seem to change in the foreseeable future.
Networking and national (or international) collaborations is a way to take advantages of the strengths of individual
departments. Besides, the programs should be judged by an external or national accreditation organization system
to provide a standard for education.

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