Donation invests in mining engineers

Earlier this year Maptek donated more than $100,000 to fund the purchase of laptops that are loaned to the third and fourth year mining engineering students to facilitate hybrid learning.

Many students were studying from home or working remotely during COVID-19, which restricted their access to high performance computers and industry programs.

Professor Maurice Pagnucco, Deputy Dean of Engineering, expressed his gratitude for the donation to Maptek representatives Peter Johnson, Keith Lee, Daniel Lewis and Mike Winfield.

‘Thanks to Maptek, our students will now be able to access programs remotely. This will significantly improve the teaching and learning experience of all students,’ he said.

Fourth year mining student Phoebe McAuliffe affirmed this: ‘These laptops will be around for years, helping multiple cohorts of students. It will make their lives easier and will allow them to engage with the software on a much higher level.’

Professor Ismet Canbulat, Head of School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering, reiterated a quote that has always resonated with him.

‘Our most valuable commodity is not oil, not gas, but people. That is why we need to invest in people and equip our engineers with the best possible tools and technology,’ he said.

Professor Serkan Saydam of the School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering thanked Maptek for the generous donation and tremendous support over the years.

‘We have had an excellent relationship with Maptek for over 20 years as a research partner, conference sponsor and provider of lectures and training on campus and online.’

Earlier this year, Maptek Chairman Peter Johnson attended an award ceremony at the School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering. He spoke to several students about the challenge of accessing programs remotely.

‘Maptek Account licensing is a key enabler to facilitate remote learning and access, making it easy for users to operate the latest Maptek software anywhere, any time. Our close relationship with the School made it easy for us to help.’

‘Students are the future of the industry. We’re happy to do what we can to facilitate their success,‘ said Mr Johnson.