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INTERMIN project Final Review Meeting

The INTERMIN project held its Final Review Meeting with the EC on the 24th September. This was the opportunity to showcase to the European Commission the work that the project has developed and implemented over the last 3 years.

After the usual presentations of the meeting participants, discussions started with a presentation + Q&A session for each of the 6 Work Packages. LPRC, as leader of WP2 – Raw materials sector skills, gaps and emerging knowledge needs, presented the work done by the team on the collection and processing of the future skills and competences gaps for the raw materials value chain. Results were mentioning are the development of three reports: D2.1, D2.2 and D.2.3. The reviewers held a discussion with the LPRC team on the use of skills as a future proof measure to ensure the adaptation of the raw materials sector to new needs.

After all the Work Packages presentations and discussions, the project team received a very positive feedback on the INTERMIN outcomes. Next steps and the sustainability of the project after the funding period were also discussed.

The LPRC team is proud to be a part of INTERMIN and wish the best success to all the project participants and to the continuation of the project itself!

LPRC presents its work during INTERMIN’s Final Conference

The INTERMIN project held its Final Conference on the 22nd of June 2021. The project, set to finish this June, worked on the creation of a network of raw materials training centres.

The final meeting had three main components: 1) presentations of the work done in each Work Package, 2) presentations by project representatives of INTERMIN related EU H2020 funded raw materials projects, 3) a stakeholders’ debate and 4) a discussion on the vision of the future of education and skills in the raw materials sector.

LPRC was a major player of this Final Conference at two moments: first, Luís Lopes presented LPRC’s work done on Work Package 2, in which Skills and competences gaps for the current and future of the raw materials sector were identified.

Luís Lopes (LPRC) presented the results on the skills and competences gaps for the raw materials sector (WP2).

Later, Márcio Tameirão presented the MOBI-US project, which has a clear connection with INTERMIN by using the latter’s skills and competences needs analysis to create MOBI-US mobility pathways according to the demand from the sector. The main objective of MOBI-US project is to set up a structured mobility network between raw materials-related higher education programs in four ESEE institutions (East & South-East Europe), and INTERMIN was an important input in this process, mainly for the role of LPRC in MOBI-US – Mentoring (WP4). Márcio also took part in the stakeholders’ debate, defending the MOBI-US perspective.

Márcio Tameirão (LPRC) presented the MOBI-US project, which has common points with INTERMIN.

Finally, the presentations made by African, North and South American and Asian representatives of the raw materials value chain showed how the skills and gaps in those areas of the globe are evolving.

The next steps include the adminstrative and technical wrap-up of INTERMIN which will take place during the summer, up to the moment of the project’s final review, to be held later in September.

LPRC contributes to the MOBI-US Training event – Part 1

The MOBI-US project has reached one more important milestone on the 18th of June 2021: the successful conclusion of MOBI-US Training event, Part 1. The objective of this online meeting was to gather representatives of other faculties and universities that offer raw materials-related higher education programs – from the ESEE region – to present some of MOBI-US’ results. The talks also mentioned the lessons learned, best-practices, and the guidelines that the consortium elaborated for an effective implementation of student mobilities. The main idea is to support and foster the development of more mobility programs and projects in the region, which will strengthen the higher education in this sector.

The MOBI-US training banner.

One of the speakers of the event was LPRC’s Luís Lopes who provided a presentation on “Competence criteria for raw materials programs, lessons from the INTERMIN project”. The talk covered the important role of education due to the uptake of new technologies, methods and tools that are used in the raw materials value chain, in order to build a stronger workforce that is adapted to the current and future market needs in the sector. In addition, he provided the main conclusions from the foresight analysis that LPRC conducted during the INTERMIN Project, presenting the skills and competences gaps in the mining sector.

Luís Lopes presenting the results of the foresight analysis of skills and competences gaps for the raw materials sector.

A total of 54 attendees had the opportunity to learn and interact with the presenters from MOBI-US consortium, as well as the guest speakers. The talks generated interest and engagement with the audience, which are crucial for the uptake of further cooperation between institutions and – consequently – the development of more mobility opportunities.

LPRC during 2020 – a summary

The past year was an atypical one, there is no denying it. Despite the many problems posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, LPRC still managed to keep up with its work plans. All team activities – where the EU-funded projects are of most importance – ran successfully. Although not without a certain degree of adaptation. A quick summary of our activities on each of our EU projects during 2020 is given below:

INTERMIN: LPRC participated in the project’s main discussions and contributed with dissemination activities. The team’s biggest workshare was done in 2019 regarding WP2 – Raw Materials Sector Skills, Gaps and Needs.

MACARONIGHT: In 2020, LPRC coordinated the second installment of  the MACARONIGHT project after its success in 2o19. Coordination included preparation and monitoring of activities in different islands as well as analysis of the outcomes.

PRO-ACT: For this space project, LPRC contributed with geological information for the preparation of the lunar analogues where the robotic elements shall be tested during 2021. LPRC also presented the project during the EGU 2020 event.

ROBOMINERS: LPRC leads WP8 – Active clustering and roadmapping – and during 2020 the team contributed to the exchange of information with several projects and initiatives, kickstarted Focus Groups discussions and launched the Horizon Scanning activities. LPRC also contributed with the dissemination of the project at several opportunities.

AGEO: Within AGEO, the team leads communication and dissemination efforts. In 2020, besides the outreach efforts, LPRC also contributed to strengthening the impact of the project by leveraging communication with other EU projects and initiatives.

CROWDTHERMAL: During 2020, LPRC’s role was two-fold. First, the team largely contributed to the communication efforts with the management of social media channels and preparation of material such as factsheets. Second, LPRC kickstarted activities for WP4 – Integrated Development Schemes, which it leads.

ENGIE: LPRC started discussions and prepared ENGIE-related activities for the Researchers Night in 2020. For this task, LPRC hosted a high number of (online) workshops. The team also contributed with dissemination of the project, as seen with its participation on the EGU 2020 event.

UNEXUP: Continuing LPRC’s tasks from UNEXMIN, in UNEXUP the team also leads dissemination efforts. Therefore, LPRC was responsible for the development of all outreach material – both online and physical. Another important task, was the team’s contribution to the market analysis and go-to-market strategy set for the project’s implementation.

MOBI-US: Within this education-based project LPRC had two main tasks. It led outreach efforts during the whole year with the development and implementation of dissemination actions. The other relevant task was the contribution to the major guidelines for the implementation of the MOBI-US network. Here, LPRC contributed with an extensive analysis on the current and future gaps of the raw materials sector.

Besides contributing to EU-projects LPRC was also active in other areas including policy analysis, science communication and use of foresight methodologies.

We hope to have an even better 2021 with more projects and more work!

Final event of the SLIM project

On 27th October 2020 the SLIM project (www.slim-project.eu) held its Final Event. This project – Sustainable Low Impact Mining – aimed to develop cost-effective and sustainable selective low impact mining solutions, in which several presentations covered the different work packages, achievements and main results of it.

In addition to the achievements of the SLIM project, there was also a clustering event, where other running EU projects of the mineral resources sector presented their projects and shared their opinions. Beside the SLIM project, seven further relevant H2020 projects were introduced. Among these projects, there were two that LPRC is part of: INTERMIN and ROBOMINERS.

The INTERMIN project – specialized portal of global raw materials training – was presented by Manuel María Regueiro González‐Barros (IGME). In his presentation, LPRC was mentioned among the consortium partners under Pillar 3: The Training and Educational Organizations, as the leader of WP2.

After that, the ROBOMINERS project – Resilient Bio‐inspired Modular Robotic Miners – was presented by Claudio Rossi (UPM), and La Palma Research Centre was also mentioned among the partners, as a Geo-scientific SME.

MIREU Workshop, Krakow

The MIREU Project is establishing a network of mining & metallurgy regions across Europe and, in that context, the AGH University hosted the ‘Workshop on skills requirements’ on December 5th and 6th in Krakow, Poland. LPRC took part as guest speakers representing INTERMIN, having the opportunity to share some insights generated during the project.

LPRC’s presentation highlighted the importance of current sectoral trends related to ‘Industry 4.0’ and Sustainable Development and how these affect the set of skills that will be required in the future of the raw materials sector. Additionally, geographical complexities arising from different mining regions and their social and cultural aspects should be properly considered. Participants from Poland, Finland, Germany, Slovakia and Portugal, representing industry, government and academia helped to enrich the discussions with different perspectives.

The workshop was followed by the celebration of Barbórka – the miners’ day in Poland – and its 100th anniversary at the AGH University. The festivities also shined light over the importance of mining and metallurgy industries and their traditions for the region and were the perfect insipiration for thinking about the future of more socially responsible mining and metallurgy sectors in the EU – a necessity acknowledged by everyone.

INTERMIN meeting, Ecuador

LPRC actively participated at the INTERMIN International Conference “The skills required in the mining industry of the 21st century” hosted by ESPOL Politechnical University in Ecuador in the end of October. For the first time in Latin America, experts from different countries of the European Union, Chile and Ecuador, belonging to governmental entities, universities, leading companies in the mining market and teachers from the area of ​​Mines and Geology met to identify areas that need to be improved in order to better prepare and adopt professionals specialized in Mines and Geology to the emerging market changes.

Within this framework, a series of presentations were provided by INTERMIN project partners in turns with speeches held by local experts invited by ESPOL. LPRC was responsible to develop a roadmap for the future skills required in the mining industry and Adrienn Cseko presented the results of the company’s efforts to the audience. Areas of possible future cooperation were identified, these are (without being comprehensive): sustainable groundwater supply, geohazard risk management, sustainable supply of raw materials, citizen science and geotursim.

Attached to the conference a series of field trips were organized in order to provide an insight into the state-of-the-art of mining in Ecuador. On the 24th of October, the consortium visited Cooperativa de Producción Minera El Tablazo N1”, artisanal aggregate mine in Santa Elena. On the 25th of October, partners visited “Mina Jerusalen” an artisanal gold mine in Ponce Enriquez. To complement the field visits, a meeting with the local authorities combined with a field trip to two artisanal gravel mines of Granillo Rojo y Granillo Negro in Santa Cruz were organized. 

The INTERMIN project team will now take these new input and will focus on the development of the Online Educational platform for the Network! Stay tuned and follow @InterminProject on Twitter, LinkedIN or Facebook.

Photo credit: Via Minera (Mina Jerusalen), Abi Sancar (El Tablazo and conference photo) @HartliebPhilipp, UniLeoben (Granillo Rojo)

INTERMIN Consortium meeting

During the last two days of January, project partners and the members of the Advisory Board gathered in Madrid at the Spanish Institute of Geology and Mining (IGME) to have a detailed discussion on the project progress and plan ahead with the work for the upcoming year.

On the first day, the first two work packages were presented, including their status and upcoming tasks. WP1 is collecting contacts of raw materials related training centres across the world, while developing a reference skills catalogue. WP2 managed by LPRC is focused on assessing skills gaps in the raw material sector under three timeframes – short-, medium- and long-term. The status of this research was presented by our colleague, Marco Martins and discussions followed by the experts with projections on sector developments for the next decade. WP2 closed its session with the kick-off of the scenario development exercise, ran by BRGM and Futuribles. Scenarios are being developed for exploring important raw materials drivers and trends, which in turn will support the creation of a Competency Model for raw materials skills and competences.

The second day of the meeting started with a cluster session from EIT Raw Materials, INFACT Project and MIREU Project, exploring potential cooperation with INTERMIN. The meeting finished with discussions over the plans for implementation of the network of training centres as well as the project planning for 2019 and a short but impressive visit to the Museum of Mines. Next meeting is expected to be held between September and October 2019 in South America. Stay tuned for updates!

INTERMIN questionnaire

Since February of this year, LPRC is part of the INTERMIN-Project which is funded by the European Union’s H2020 scheme. The 36-month Project aiming at the creation of a self-sustainable long-term lasting international network of training centres for the raw materials sector.

One significant part of this project is to make an inventory of all the post-graduate training programmes in the field of raw-materials engineering that are available (not just in the EU but worldwide). In order to facilitate this task our colleagues have prepared the enclosed survey. Based on this survey and a thorough assessment of the future technological development and prospective shortages of specific skills we want to identify possible gaps and build on this, preparing the community (not just the partners of the project-consortium) for the future.

We are all very thankful if you could spend a few minutes of your time helping us. If there are any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Philipp Hartlieb from Montanuniversitaet Leoben (Philipp.hartlieb_at_unileoben.ac.at), who compiled the survey.

Please find the survey in the following link: INTERMIN questionnaire. 

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer this questionnaire. It will take approx. 10-15 minutes.

The INTERMIN Consortium

INTERMIN Kick off Meeting

Between the 13th and 15th of February, the INTERMIN (International Network of Raw Materials Training Centres) Consortium and Advisory Board members gathered together in Brussels, Belgium, for the kick-off meeting of INTERMIN – a 36-month H2020 Project aiming at the creation of a self-sustainable long-term lasting international network of training centres for the raw materials sector.

For that, scoping and mapping activities will be undertaken internationally, collecting information of relevant raw materials-related skills from training institutions around the globe offering a wide variety of programmes and courses. This will be followed by an assessment of the employers’ needs in terms of skills and knowledge as a means of analysing the existing gaps in the sector. This will be projected into short, medium and long timeframes. Once the gaps are identified and better understood, enhanced approaches and actions will be appraised for responding to these gaps in the sector, creating a new paradigm for international training centres in the raw materials sector.

LPRC is leading Work Package 2 (WP2): Raw materials sector skills, gaps and needs. The main tasks will be assessing the employers’ needs and developing a competency model for the raw materials sector. For that, LPRC will work closely with its project partners, particularly the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) and the French Geological Survey (BRGM).

Read more about the project at this summary.