In late February 2005, 30 postgraduate students studying within CRCs in the mining and energy sector had a unique opportunity to learn about a potential working life in this industry after their studies. They also broadened their horizons by hearing presentations on industry-related research outside their own field of endeavour. And they had a good time doing it.

This valuable learning experience took the form of the inaugural five-day Student-Industry-CRC Symposium, co-hosted by the Parker Centre and the Centre for Sustainable Resource Processing.

The symposium, held on 20-25 February 2005, mixed students from six of the eight mining and energy CRCs with industry representatives from Rio Tinto, AngloGold Ashanti, Alcoa and other companies at Fairbridge Village near Pinjarra, an hour’s drive south of Perth, WA. This secluded venue became a “hothouse” for networking.

"The intention was to provide students with something more than just an academic experience,” says Dr Dan Churach, the symposium’s organiser and the Education Program Manager at both of the hosting CRCs. “Although each student presented their research, the main aim was to encourage networking between the students and the industry people. There was also plenty of time for interaction between the students.”

Dr Churach says the stimulus for the symposium was that students have said they want to meet more people in industry because when they finish, they are going to be looking for a job and industry people have said they want to meet more students as potential employees.

In addition, the CRC Programme encourages interaction and collaboration among CRCs. “So, we were fulfilling all three needs with this symposium, with interaction being the key to the whole thing,” says Dr Churach.

Industry got right behind this initiative, providing considerable cash support (Rio Tinto, Newmont and BHP Billiton) and research, management and human resources personnel for networking and two roundtable discussions.

The roundtable discussions offered advice about industry careers straight from the horse’s mouth as all the panel members either work, or have worked, in the resources industry.

Panel member Dr Evan Jamieson (Alcoa World Alumina) believes that the opportunity for students and industrial representatives to freely and openly communicate was an essential element of the symposium as misconceptions about life in industry can influence career choices. “It is important to have the opportunity to test these ideas against the experiences from those already in industry,” he says.

Dr Churach reports the discussion on the “So what’s life in the industry really like?” topic included the need to continue learning once employed and to gain a broad spectrum of experiences within the industry. "All the panel participants agreed that most students would experience a variety of positions in their industry careers that were seemingly “outside” the technical area in which they currently studied,” he says.

The need for networking and personal contacts became apparent in the “I’ve got my degree – now what do I do?” roundtable discussion. The panel stressed that very few “good” jobs were acquired without a strong input from “word of mouth” sources.

Mike Daniel, a PhD student in the Centre for Sustainable Resource Processing, says these discussions were very useful and topped the symposium in his opinion. “They broke the “us” and “them” barrier.”

"The roundtable discussions provided the opportunity to network with several leaders in the minerals field,” says PhD student Tim Ballantyne (CRC for Clean Power from Lignite). “We heard how their careers have progressed, where a PhD can take you and the transition from PhD to industry.”

Dr Janine Lay, Senior Analyst Technology at Rio Tinto, says she and her Rio colleagues were delighted to have the opportunity to participate in the symposium and were very impressed by the students’ presentations and their achievements. “It was particularly useful for me to have the chance to get to know the students, for Rio’s future recruitment.”

Since most of the students were within a year or two of entering the workforce, the symposium included a talk on safety and risk management by consultant Mr Simon Destree-Thompson from Minrisk Ltd.

Assistance with communicating their value to prospective employers was provided via the “Communicating across the interface” workshop, presented by Rio Tinto's Dr Lay.

In addition, visits to several industrial plants were organised to allow students to see firsthand the workings and challenges of mineral processing facilities. The Tiwest Pigment Plant, the WMC Kwinana Nickel Refinery and the HIsmelt iron plant hosted tours of their facilities.

"The Tiwest plant was an interesting plant to look at from a safety management point of view as it contains several toxic gases under high temperature and pressure,” says Mr Ballantyne. “The HIsmelt plant gave a fantastic insight into the challenges faced in commissioning new technology.”

James Didovich, a Parker Centre Honours student, says the HIsmelt tour was a fitting finale to a very informative week. “The usual mine tours that I have been on seem dull in comparison. I have found it impossible to think of a reason why I would not want to work at HIsmelt.”

Prizes, donated by Rio Tinto, were given to the best of the student presentations. “The quality of the presentations was extremely high,” notes the Parker Centre’s Dr Jim Avraamides, one of the three judges. “We considered how the talk was presented and how they handled questions as well as the actual technical content when awarding the prizes.”

Tsuey Cham (CRC for Coal in Sustainable Development) and Claire Rogers (CRC for Greenhouse Gas Technologies) won first prizes of $500 each. Runner-up prizes of $300 each went to Tim Ballantyne, Mike Daniel and Tania Dhu (CRC for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration).

Meal times and social functions provided another avenue for interaction between the students and with the industry people and researchers from the hosting CRCs.

The participating students from each CRC are undertaking research in different niches of the minerals and energy sector – from exploration to processing to sustainability in the minerals and power generation industries. However, it is hoped that their networking during the symposium will seed some interdisciplinary research collaborations.

Mr Daniel commented after the symposium that last year he heard Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Robin Batterham, talk about an environment of technical cross-pollination. “This symposium was such a forum,” says Mr Daniel.

Feedback from the students indicates that they got a lot out of the symposium. “All in all the week was a great experience for all the students involved,” says Mr Ballantyne. “The overwhelming opinion was that the event should be continued in the future.”

Industry participants have expressed an interest in having an annual symposium. Dr Churach says the plan is to hold such a symposium every year in a different state.