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Geoscience Education in Australia:Geoscience Education in Australia:

Mastering Economic GeologyMastering Economic Geology

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Australia’s Minerals Geoscience Masters Program for

Professional Geologists

David R CookeCODES, University of Tasmania

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Tony WebsterMaster of Economic Geology Coordinator, University of Tasmania

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Outline• Mining and the

Australian economy

• Geoscience education in

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Australian

• Relationships between

universities and the

minerals industry – theMinerals Tertiary

Education Council (MTEC)

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• Education opportunitiesfor professional

geologists through MTEC

– the University of Tasmania perspective

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Geoscience Education - Australia• Australia has 38 public and

2 private universities and a

population of 22.5 million

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currently offer geoscience

majors

• Typical degree structure:• Undergraduate coursework

– 3 years

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• Honours thesis – 1 year• Typical career paths:

• Industry geoscientist

• Further studies (e.g., Ph.D.)

• Government geoscientist

• Other

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Challenges for Geoscience Education• Over the last 20 years,

the number of Tertiary

geoscience departments

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from 28 to 16

• Reasons why Australian

geoscience education isin decline (Ross, 2008):

• Low public awareness

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• Insufficient emphasis insecondary schools

• Cyclic industry demand

• Federal Government

funding and fundingmodels

Ross (2008) - A Rallying Cry for Geoscience in Australia

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Lost generations – late 90s, mid 00s• Late 90s: Many Australian geologists left the industry after a

major downturn

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many underqualified third year students

• Because those students took jobs without completing

honours, they are unqualified to undertake PhD studies

• There is now a dearth of Australian PhD students in geosciences

• The ‘lost’ generation of the mid 00s require extra training...

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Minerals Tertiary Education Council• In 1998, a minerals

industry discussion paper

concluded that education

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the industry to maintain

and grow its international

competitiveness• MTEC was set up in 1999

by the Minerals Council of

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Australia to build a world-class tertiary learning

environment for the

education of professionals

for the Australian minerals

industry

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u s t r a l i a • Three Australian universities

(the ‘G3’ group) now offer a

collaborative Masters of

National Minerals Geoscience Masters Program

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program through MTEC

• The program was created by

combining individualmasters courses from each

universit

CODES – The University of Tasmania

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• The course is now supplemented by

units from Curtin University

Business School

CET – The University of Western Australia

EGRU – James Cook University

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Objectives of the Masters Program• The short courses provide

cutting edge mineral

deposit research to

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industry participants

• The courses are presented

by Australian andinternational researchers

and by leading industry

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geoscientists who are

actively exploring for, and

mining ore deposits

• Designed for graduates

with 2 to 15 years

professional experience

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The U Tasmania Perspective• In 2011 the University of Tasmania’s Master of

Economic Geology (MEconGeol) degree program will

celebrate its 21st anniversary

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past decade

• It is managed by a full-time course coordinator who

assists students with any issues that arise during their

candidature• Our Masters course began in 1990 with 6 students,

and currently has 54 students enrolled

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Andrew Tunks,

Masters Coordinator 2001-2004

Bruce Gemmell,

Masters Coordinator 1990-2001

Tony Webster,

Masters Coordinator 2005-current

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u s t r a l i a Country of Origin?Country of Origin?

•• 24 Australian24 Australian

•• 8 Australian8 Australian--based otherbased other 2%

2%

2% 2%

Country of Origin – M.Econ.Geol.

Our Current Students

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nationalitiesnationalities

•• 3 Philippines3 Philippines

•• 3 South America3 South America

•• 2 Indonesia2 Indonesia

•• 1 DR Congo1 DR Congo

•• 53%

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Australian

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•• 1 Canada1 Canada

•• 1 China1 China

•• 1 South Korea1 South Korea

The Australian mining industry is the largest beneficiary of the

MEconGeol program but we export our expertise to the world

17%

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• Volcanology & Mineralisation in Volcanic Terrains

Shortcourses offered by U Tasmania

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• Brownfields Exploration

• Ore Deposit Geochemistry Hydrology & Geochronology

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• Ore Deposits of South America

All courses are available to industry participants and

to postgraduate students from other institutions

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u s t r a l i a University of Western Australia (MSc Ore Deposit Geology)

• Applied Structural and Field Geology

• South African Ore Deposits Field Excursion

Shortcourses Offered by our Partners

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• Ore Deposit Conceptual Models

James Cook University (MSc Ore Deposit Geology)

• Business and Financial Management

• Advanced Field Techniques

• Advanced Techniques in Mining and Exploration Geology

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Curtin University of Technology (MSc Ore Deposit Geology)• Natural Resources Economics and Resource Sector Finance

• Legal and Regulatory Environment

• Cost and Capital Investment Estimation• Resource Sector Management

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u s t r a l i a • Students choose and design their own research

investigations on industry-related projects

•• 5353 MEconGeol research theses have been

Optional Masters Research Project

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submitted at UTas since 1990 (most by part-timeexternal students)

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• 43 Australian projects

• 10 international projects

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u s t r a l i a • Graduates and current students have come from all over

Australia and from all parts of the world

The Graduates

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•• The 65The 65thth and 66and 66thth graduates obtainedgraduates obtained

their degrees in December 2009their degrees in December 2009

• Many more industry,

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Our second MEconGeol graduation group, 1994

governmen an aca em c

geoscientists have

benefitted from attending

MEconGeol short courses

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u s t r a l i a In 2009, there were seven UTasmania graduatesIn 2009, there were seven UTasmania graduates – –

our 2our 2ndnd largest graduation of Masters studentslargest graduation of Masters students

The Graduates

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• Regional Exploration Manager (South America)

• Chief Geologist Exploration (Indonesia &

Congo)

• Senior Exploration Geologist (Victoria)

• Senior Exploration Geologist (Asia-Pacific)

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Graduands Nalin Shah (MEconGeol) and

Matthew Hope (MEconGeol) withProfessor Tony Crawford, August 2004

• Senior Project Geologist (Canada)• Exploration Geologist (Queensland)

• Exploration Geologist (Mongolia)

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u s t r a l i a If you ask students and graduates what they remember about

the courses they will invariably say …………..

What Students Remember

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u s t r a l i a • Remarkable geology seen in beautiful places


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Master of Economic Geology students on Mount Tarawera, New Zealand, March 2006

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u s t r a l i a • Active volcanoes and modern

hydrothermal systems


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White Island, New Zealand White Island, New Zealand

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Mt Tarawera, New Zealand Mt Tarawera, New Zealand

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u s t r a l i a • World-class ore deposits


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Colquijirca, PeruColquijirca, Peru

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El Teniente, ChileEl Teniente, Chile Mt Lyell, TasmaniaMt Lyell, Tasmania

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u s t r a l i a • Social activities and new culinary experiences


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Football matchesFootball matches

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BarbequesBarbeques Tasty treatsTasty treats

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u s t r a l i a • The amount of work that they have to do to pass a course

What Students FORGET

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• Despite what the scenic pictures may suggest, and the fun and amazing geology

that everyone remembers, the courses are no holiday!!

Field lecture in the Sierra Gorda core shed, N ChileField lecture in the Sierra Gorda core shed, N Chile

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What Students Actually Do!On Campus: Lectures in the morning

(08:30 start)

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Afternoon practicals (either hand sample

or computer-based exercises) - late finish

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In the field: mapping, logging, site evaluationsIn the field: mapping, logging, site evaluations

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Conclusions

• Australia’s geoscience education sector suffers from cyclicalindustry employment opportunities, departmental closures and

mergers, and a general dearth of local postgraduate students

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excellent platform for further education of industry professionals

(both Australian and International)

• The diversity of coursework options allows individuals to design

their degrees to suit their personal needs

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2009 M.Econ.Geol. student excursion to Chuquicamata, Chile2009 M.Econ.Geol. student excursion to Chuquicamata, Chile

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