As Mining Weekly reports, the School of Mining Engineering at the University of Witwatersrand will receive a donation of R50,000 ($US 6,100) from BME to support promising students finish their studies. Many students have to leave university because they cannot afford costs of studying.
South African mining skills are regarded as among the best in the world and, with global demand at an all-time high, the South African mining industry needs to negate the brain drain by finding innovative ways to attract, develop and retain skills which are borne by the country’s mining schools, BME says.
“It has been established that one of the reasons for not completing a university degree, especially in faculties where mathematics and science are dominant, has surprisingly less to do with academic ability but increasingly with an environment where self-reliance is the key to success. Therefore, a promising student who has what it takes to become a successful mining engineer may lose his or her opportunity because he or she cannot afford transport costs or a vital textbook,” says BME marketing manager Charles Hurly.