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ContentsFUTURE MINERALS EDUCATION NEEDS AT THE UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL
The desired knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) of undergraduate engineers who will serve the minerals industries by the turn of the century will obviously be driven by the nature of the industry in terms of "standard practice" and emerging needs and issues.
It is clear that the industry, both the extractive, as well as the minerals processing sectors are becoming more dependent on state-of the-art instrumentation and process control systems. In addition, the industry is becoming increasingly dependent on advanced management concepts and systems. Hence, if an new engineer is to quickly adapt and contribute to the organization that he/she joins upon graduation, in addition to a sound base in engineering fundamentals and skills, as a minimum an awareness in the items mentioned here will be essential for rapid growth and assimilation into the new employer's culture.
When we have a discussion in 2007 about what were the most significant developments in the minerals industries in the last 10 years, I believe that there will be an overwhelming vote in support of process control and automation, systems optimization, as well as improvements in management systems. This opinion was reaffirmed at a panel discussion at the Annual SME meeting in Denver in February 1997, where the majority of the industry participants clearly stated that the focus will be on refinements of existing technology vs new revolutionary changes in the way we mine. I believe that means add-on controls and automation, fine tuning what we have, as well as advanced management systems.
The value of an electrical/electronic orientation to an engineer in the minerals industry is already clearly apparent. Based on the feedback from industry employers across the country, there is today a demand that far exceeds supply of "mining engineers" who have supplemental experience and training in electronics and power systems.
The use of systems design and management has clearly contributed to some of the recent long-term production and productivity successes in the minerals extraction sector of the industry. For an engineer to contribute in the mining organization after the year 2000, skills in systems design and optimization will be essential. In addition, many engineers in operating companies progress through the "traditional ranks" of supervision starting with section management, etc. Whether the engineer is a supervisor, or supporting management, it will be essential that the engineer understand and appreciate the rapidly emerging concepts of Quality, Total Quality Management, and Team-Based Operations.
Looking at current minerals education programs at the undergraduate level, they can be characterized (with a few exceptions) as under populated and below the "critical mass". While in my opinion, the nation could be served by fewer but high quality minerals related programs, I do not intend to address the means by which that "sorting out" can or should take place. Rather, my purpose here is to share my insights as to the industry's needs and how to best address them.
One consideration in any recommendations is the time required to earn an undergraduate degree. While the "advertised" time to complete an undergraduate degree in engineering is typically four years, the nation-wide average to actually earn a degree is reported to be about 4.9 years.
The ABET accreditation program obviously needs to be considered in any curriculum revisions. In addition, ABET needs to carefully consider the changing requirements in the industry and the means to achieve this requisite education (KSA's). ABET has an "Engineering Criteria 2000" initiative which needs to be considered in any curriculum revision initiative.
Based on a sampling of the undergraduate course lists of 6 mining engineering programs, I find quite a diversity of required courses. For example, mine surveying is a required class in some universities, and in others not. Is mine surveying needed for all graduating mining engineers? Is it necessary for some? The answer obviously lies in what the engineer will be doing "on the job." Some departments have dropped the requirement. An increasing number of Civil engineering departments are dropping the requirement. This is but one example. The message is that the "basic program" at each university needs to be carefully reviewed to reassess what are the "core competencies" required for all mining engineers. If the "across the board" courses can be slightly reduced, then engineering "electives" like electronics could be added within the total required credits.
This is the age of specialization. Mining Engineering has been an education program to produce a "generalist". The requirement of mining companies is clearly changing; companies are aggressively seeking the generalist plus specialization. However, as we consider these issues, we also need to recognize that the industry is "down-sizing"; what impact will this have on the number and type of engineers hired? Obviously, some of the "short fall" in the operating companies will be made up through consulting engineering firms. I believe the KSA's of these organizations will generally be the same as I have characterized for the operating companies.
Another consideration is the increasing international nature of minerals industry. Any KSA's that enhance the engineer's ability to effectively operate in that environment will substantially enhance the ability of the new engineer to rapidly contribute and grow in that organization.
Recognizing that specialization is a requirement, are joint ventures between Universities feasible? Or between departments at a given university? The industry is experiencing substantial change in operating philosophy and base technology. It is a time of challenge and opportunity. We must all be responsive to the challenge. I trust the discussions at this panel session will help lay the foundation for such change in the educational system in a timely and productive manner.
Other papers were not available at time of printing.