Mining engineering academics represent UP on an international platform

Posted on January 27, 2023

All the academic staff members of the University of Pretoria (UP)’s Department of Mining Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (EBIT) are now members of the international Society of Mining Professors (SOMP). This includes its most recent appointment, junior lecturer Larrance Ngwenyama, who joined the Department’s academic staff in 2022.

This organisation represents the academic interests of the global mining community, and is committed to making a difference to the future of the minerals discipline at tertiary level. Its main goal is to guarantee the scientific, technical, academic and professional knowledge that is required to ensure a sustainable supply of minerals for mankind. It facilitates information exchange, research and teaching partnerships, as well as collaborative activities among its members.

In 2022, one of the Department’s young female lecturers, Jennifer van der Walt, had the opportunity of participating in an online panel discussion, hosted by the Society, to gauge the opinions of seven future leaders in the mining industry from across the world. Reflecting on what had attracted her to study mining engineering, Jennifer shared the fact that she liked the interdisciplinary aspect of mining. “Mining engineers cannot function on their own. We need the involvement of different disciplines to obtain a holistic view of the entire operation.”

As a co-opted member of the SOMP Council, former Council member for Africa and a past President of the Society (2013/14), Head of Department, Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman is pleased that staff members of UP’s Department of Mining Engineering are able to benefit from the views of the Society’s international network of mining academics. “This exposure to global trends in mining engineering education benefits the Department’s undergraduate and postgraduate students, and adds to the value of a degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Pretoria,” he explains.

- Author Janine Smit

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