WUST students at University of Miskolc: a legacy from MOBI-US!

Original post by University of Miskolc (20 January 2023), translated to English:

EARTH SCIENCE MASTER COURSE BETWEEN COUNTRIES AND CONTINENTS

Foreign students spend half a year at the Faculty of Earth Sciences of the University of Miskolc as part of a European university collaboration. The guest students spoke about their experiences at the master course, which was implemented with the support of the EIT‒RawMaterials program of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

In cooperation with the University of Miskolc, the AGH University of Technology and Science in Krakow, the University of Zagreb and the Wroclaw University of Technology and Science, the MOBI-US project funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) was introduced.

The aim of the program is to create a connection between the highest level university courses related to the raw materials sector and to build an education-research network. A natural part of the cooperation is that the universities offer students mobility opportunities, including semester-long courses.
Each master’s program has its own uniqueness, so during the semesters in Miskolc, Krakow, Zagreb and Wroclaw, students broaden their horizons and deepen their academic experience with the specialized specializations of the partner university.

Ben McAleney from Canada came from the Wrocław University of Technology in Poland to the Faculty of Technical Earth Sciences of the University of Miskolc in September 2022. He took mainly environmental courses last semester. He sees that the programs in which he participates in Miskolc are very unique, and he has gained a lot of new experiences.

Colombian geologist Daniel Felipe Moreno Lozada is studying master’s programs in Europe. As he says: in his country, geology mostly focuses on the oil and gas industry or mining, but environmental protection is less of a focus. “The courses are very good, the professors are very experienced. They also shared good experiences with us. Overall, I think the University of Miskolc is great!” – he said.

Not only students, but also universities and industry are beneficiaries of the project, if only indirectly. At the universities, the mobility network develops domestic master’s courses related to the raw materials sector, and new specializations appear. And its industrial players can get well-educated, motivated young engineers with special professional competences.”

The successful conclusion of the MOBI-US project!

The MOBI-US project has reached its end. This EIT RawMaterials project had its kick-off meeting in the beginning of 2020, and it lasted until the end of 2021. During the 24 months of implementation, the consortium partners have worked closely to deliver the project’s objectives and added value to the main target audience – students from the ESEE region (East & South-East Europe). 

The major objective of the MOBI-US project was to establish a network of structured mobilities between four universities of the ESEE region – among raw materials-related master programmes. The aim was to establish a solid network with several pathway options, covering a wide segment of the raw materials sector, including mineral resources exploration, mining engineering, as well as environmental and geotechnical fields. The other important goal was to map the strengths of the partner’s programmes and develop mobility pathways that would complement and strengthen these programmes. In total, 13 mobility pathways have been established, and the administrative framework for the student mobilities has been set up. In order to promote the MOBI-US network, virtual mobility and intensive short courses were organized online.

An additional major objective was to improve the home programmes, to be more streamlined towards new teaching methods and to meet the EIT’s OLOs (Overarching Learning Outcomes) and the “T-shaped professional” concept. Thus, one of the main tasks of the project was to revise the home programmes of the partners to check whether they meet the needs of the raw materials industry, taking into consideration the competence needs that were mapped and defined in detail by the INTERMIN H2020 project, and through the input of experts during the MOBI-US Industry Workshop.

The final event of the MOBI-US project was held in Zagreb, Croatia, in September 2021. It was a valuable opportunity for the consortium and other leaders of the MSc programs involved in MOBI-US to finalise the mobility pathways and improve the offered education programs. Since the project’s kick-off meeting, this was the only chance for the partners to meet in person due to the current measures related to social interaction and travel restrictions.

All communication materials are available at the Downloads page of the website, including the Project Booklet – the most complete publication related to MOBI-US, where you can learn about the mobility options, MSc programs involved, course descriptions, admission & administration procedures, and more.

Thank you for staying with us during this pleasant journey!

Conclusion of MOBI-US online short course!

On behalf of the MOBI-US project, the professors at Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Babes-Bolyai University, and University of Miskolc have organized a short course on some of the latest methods developed and applied for mineral resource exploration and mining. This opportunity was addressed to MSc and PhD students in the related specializations – mineral exploration and mining engineering – in mid October and early November 2021.

The MOBI-US short course was organized in five units, comprising lectures, case studies and an online test related to what have been covered in the course. To avoid schedule overlap with regular university classes, these classes were organized in the evenings, and students who accomplished the short course received a certificate issued by MOBI-US coordination.

The program covered the following topics:

  • Digital Mine
  • Automation and the industrial revolutions
  • Shallow geophysical investigations
  • Interpretation of gravity, magnetic and geoelectric datasets
  • New analytical methodologies in exploration geochemistry
  • Geochemical vectors in magmatic-hydrothermal systems
  • Elements of technological process in mining
  • Case study on underground mine
  • Innovative solutions for and challenges in underwater exploration
  • Sea-floor exploration and exploration of flooded underground spaces, the case study of the UNEXMIN-UNEXUP projects

The MOBI-US short online course counted with 24 students who concluded the lectures and the short tests, from the four networking universities. Additionally, 11 more students have attended at least half of the lectures.

The MOBI-US online short course 2021 was one more successful initiative from the project!

Workshop 2: MOBI-US’ final event!

The final event of the MOBI-US project was held in Zagreb, Croatia, on 20-21 September 2021. The MOBI-US Workshop 2 was dedicated to consortium partners and other leaders of the MSc programs involved in MOBI-US. A total of 17 participants had the opportunity to meet in person for the first time since the project’s kick-off meeting, in Budapest – Hungary.

After the welcome words by the Project Coordinator Ferenc Mádai, the agenda of the meeting started with an introduction of the MOBI-US achievements and promotional materials that have been produced to raise awareness on the project. The mobility pathways were revised and commented on for further improvement during the final weeks of MOBI-US.

Afterwards, the MSc program leaders were divided in groups to conduct a workshop-like exercise to foster the implementation of entrepreneurial & innovation skills in the offered education programs in MOBI-US. The next block was dedicated to the improvement of project-based courses and curriculum fitness check of the mobility pathways, before the wrap-up of the first day of the event.

The second and final day of the Workshop started with an analysis made by the mentors on the submitted SWOT analyses and action plans from the Training event. Finally, the consortium partners discussed about the potential future of MOBI-US, and a social lunch to foster the continuity of the cooperation between the consortium partners.

Stay tuned on our communication channels to learn more about the final weeks of MOBI-US! The last steps of the establishment of the structured mobility network among raw materials-related Master programs between ESEE universities.

MOBI-US at INTERMIN Final Conference!

The INTERMIN project held its Final Conference on the 22nd of June 2021, online. The project will be concluded at the end of June, and its main objective was to create a network of raw materials training centres worldwide – with the INTERMIN Portal. Through this Portal, students can filter their search of education programs on raw materials by region, by institution, and by disciplines/skills, which facilitates their decision making of the best destination according to their respective academic and/or professional objectives. In addition to helping students, the project also benefits the registered institutions, due to the global visibility that the Portal provides.

The final meeting had three main sessions: 1) Presentation of the results in each Work Package, 2) Presentations about EU projects that are connected/related to INTERMIN, 3) Stakeholders’ debate, and 4) Discussion on the vision of the future of education and skills in the raw materials sector. In this opportunity, under the session dedicated to EU projects related to INTERMIN, Márcio Tameirão (LPRC) presented the MOBI-US project.

During the first steps of MOBI-US the mentoring partners produced a guideline document on how to effectively set up the structured mobility network between the partner universities. One of topics in the guideline is the “Latest results on European qualifications framework, skill and competence catalogue for the raw materials sector”, which was a product of the work done in the INTERMIN project.

Therefore, this knowledge transfer from INTERMIN demonstrates the strong contribution and added value that it provided to MOBI-US in the successful implementation of the mobility pathways, according to the actual demands of the raw materials sector.

MOBI-US Training event – Part 1

The MOBI-US project reached one more important milestone on the 18th of June 2021: the successful conclusion of MOBI-US Training event, Part 1. The main goal 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 developed for an effective implementation of student mobilities. The 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, thus contributing to the raw materials industry.

In addition, guest speakers were invited to provide insights about potential changes in raw materials policy, skills and competence requirements, as well as the future of student mobilities in a post-COVID era in Europe:

  1. Márton Beke, Tempus Public Foundation: Structure and options for the future of student mobilities
  2. Vitor Correia, INTRAW (International Raw Materials Observatory): Expected changes in the competence requirements for education programs in the raw materials sector post-COVID
  3. Manuel Regueiro, IGME (Geological and Mining Institute of Spain): Changes in the EU raw materials policy post-COVID

A total of 55 attendees had the opportunity to learn and interact with the presenters from MOBI-US consortium, as well as the guest speakers. The presentations 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.

The event was hosted online by the project coordinator Ferenc Mádai – University of Miskolc. At the end he provided a summary and main achievements of the event, as well as the “homework” for the representatives of higher education programs, who will make an internal assessment of what is needed in their home institutions to be able to set up student mobilities – related to staff, facilities, and administrative conditions. This homework will be developed during the summer and presented in the second part of the MOBI-US Training, towards the end of 2021.

Upcoming event: Training Staff, part 1

On the 18th June 2021 the MOBI-US project will host a training event – online – specially dedicated to representatives of faculties and universities in the ESEE (East & South-East Europe) region that offer raw materials-related master’s programs.

The main purpose of the first part of the training is to transfer the knowledge and experiences acquired by the consortium during the MOBI-US project, focusing on the guidelines and preparation procedures to set up a structured mobility network between institutions, considering the demand in skills to fulfill the industry needs. In addition, the consortium will present the achievements within the project. The overall content of the event will be the following:

  • Achievements of the first year of the MOBI-US project
  • Benefits and issues in setting up a structured mobility at your HEI
  • Skills and competences required by the raw materials sector
  • Student mobility options and competence needs in the post-COVID period

In addition, guest speakers will provide insights on the changes and adaptations that the post-COVID world will potentially face. The context will be focused on student mobility, raw materials policy, and changes in the skills and competence requirements in the raw materials sector:

  1. Márton Beke, Tempus Public Foundation: Structure and options for the future of student mobilities
  2. Vitor Correia, INTRAW (International Raw Materials Observatory): Expected changes in the competence requirements for education programs in the raw materials sector post-COVID
  3. Manuel Regueiro, IGME (Geological and Mining Institute of Spain): Changes in the EU raw materials policy post-COVID

After the presentations and discussions, the participants will receive a “homework” to be completed over the summer and presented in the second part of the Training event in September 2021. Participants will use the insights and tools acquired during the first event to check the internal resources of their home institutions to be able to offer mobility opportunities to students – administration, staff, facilities, and more.

The objective of the Training event (parts 1 and 2) is to support and foster the uptake of structured mobility opportunities for students in ESEE institutions, to strengthen the higher education in raw materials in the region through cooperation.

REGISTER HERE

Download our promotional and informative material to learn more about the program, speakers, registration, and more:

The Draft Mobility Pathways were published!

As you may already know, the main objective of MOBI-US is to set up a structured mobility network between the offered raw materials-related MSc programs of the networking universities. For that purpose, the partners mutually found complementary MSc programs that can have an extra added value due to the mobility opportunity for a semester (30 ECTS).

Through workshops (1-Presentation of portfolios, 2-Matchmaking and 3-Industry workshop), consortium meetings, emails, and internal discussions; 13 potential pathways were co-developed to be offered to the students during their mobility window. These draft mobility pathways are now available on our webpage!

The Draft Mobility Pathways webpage is organized as a menu, in which visitors can learn about the programs involved in each of the pathways, and the semester in which the option for the mobility will take place. Each pathway has its own button (Pathway #number) that will lead visitors to the webpages dedicated to each pathway, with the complete information about them.

These 13 webpages contain not only the previous information found on the menu, but also the educational pathway of the MSc program, an introduction of the joint curricula, the courses of each semester, and the courses descriptions of the mobility semester.

These pathways are being reviewed and, if necessary, adjustments will be made in the upcoming weeks. Once the reviewing phase is finalized, the whole MOBI-US network – including the final mobility pathways, MSc programs involved, and the administration procedures for application and enrollment in the mobility will be available on the website.

Follow us on social media and stay updated with our progress!

Consortium e-meeting: Past achievements and future steps!

On February 22nd the MOBI-US consortium had a virtual meeting to discuss what has been achieved in 2020, and to launch the tasks and priorities for 2021 – the final year of MOBI-US. The participants were the members of the Steering Committee of the project, which is the team responsible for the decision-making towards the work plan.

The meeting covered the achievements of 2020, as well as the related reporting of it – deliverables and outputs. All items were delivered and uploaded successfully, in due time. After that, potential initiatives and ideas for MOBI-US were discussed, and the pros and cons were evaluated by the participants. In addition, the developments in the joint curricula and the preparation of the whole material about MOBI-US network were covered in this opportunity. The finalization and availability of these materials will be further discussed via email and future e-meetings, for the students to clearly understand the options, opportunities, and administration procedures to participate in the mobility.

In addition, there was a talk about the next and final workshop within the project lifetime. This workshop will be organized to present and discuss the network of elaborated mobility pathways, followed by an improvement session.

Stay updated and connected with MOBI-US!