Improving skills is one of the biggest needs and challenges of the mining industry. This topic, together with other pertinent issues such as modernisation, was just one of the insights coming out of the 2015 Joburg Indaba, which was held at the Inanda Club this week. UP was one of the sponsors of the Indaba.

Professor Cheryl de la Rey participated in a panel discussion exploring the strategic direction that is currently shaping the industry.

“Our primary responsibility as an academic institution is that we produce quality students that are prepared to engage with the changing environments in which they will work,” she said. “Our recently launched Virtual Reality Centre for Mine Design, together with the Mining Resilience Research Institute in the Faculty of Engineering Built Environment and IT (EBIT), both provide vital cogs in the wheel that will assist the industry with its re-positioning and actively contribute towards solutions for the complex challenges it faces.”

UP final year mining students also participated in “The Future Generation” session and enjoyed the opportunity to interact with current industry professionals, who were able to give them valuable insight into the world they will be entering in 2016.