University partnerships

Train the trainer

In January Maptek hosted the 7th annual Train the Trainer Workshop, which was held 100% remote.

Professors from all across North America participated in blended learning where they took online training in the Fall semester and then participated in live instructor led training.

Course topics included geological modelling, exploration data analysis, block modelling, underground and open pit design, pit and stope optimisation, and scheduling.

The Maptek team is excited to see teacher assistants, researchers and professors implement these new skills in their work.

Engineering online

University of New South Wales 3rd and 4th year Mining Engineering students have begun online Vulcan training. This new format allows them to continue to benefit from four decades of Maptek industry experience.

Technical Services Mining Engineer Mike Winfield, one of the Maptek team members who has regularly delivered in-person lectures and training at UNSW, says they have adapted teaching methods because of the global pandemic.

‘The COVID safe system prevents access for us to universities at the moment, so our online training courses provide the opportunity for students to upskill,’ Winfield says.

‘We’re presenting a distilled version of courses available to industry, tailored to suit their studies.’

‘At the start of their careers, the next generation can benefit from their predecessors. There’s a solid history of people using Maptek software for 40 years.’

‘We’re training students to not just replace them, but to launch from the work of the past. We want to empower and encourage them to come up with new and creative ideas.’

Students will study elements of industry courses which focus on resource modelling, such as Getting started with Design Data and Getting started with Drillholes and Databases.

Winfield says an understanding of software used in the mining industry provides a positive foundation for future career outcomes.

‘For the mining industry, it’s not ‘out with the old, in with the new’, it’s seeing how we can take this industry so much further.’

UNSW School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering Professor Serkan Saydam says the online format gives students access to training whenever they want.

‘It gives them huge flexibility,’ he says. ‘In the current environment many of the students are working full-time. So it is quite suitable for them.’

Professor Saydam says there is still great value in face to face training and looks forward to continuing to work with Maptek.

‘The students highly appreciate the guest lectures or projects from industry to gather the practical information.’