Putting data to work

Miners and builders are awash with data, meaning they’re on the hunt for talented data science graduates to make sense of it all

Mining and construction are two of Australia’s biggest industries. A lot of data and maths are involved in them, and skilled grads are needed!

From drone surveys to sensor data, buildings and mines are getting more intelligent all the time. This is producing a lot of data that needs to be analysed to keep workers and residents safe, and to help anticipate and solve potential problems before they occur. Data and maths have other applications too, such as in virtual reality models. Whether you love maths and modelling or are deeply into data, the opportunities will likely only keep increasing.

– Nadine Cranenburgh

Graduate opportunities

Two major mining companies are on the hunt for talented data science students to fill graduate and internship roles.

Rio Tinto’s two-year grad program offers individual coaching, game-based leadership training, inspirational talks and practical placements. There are also holiday internship opportunities that could give you a foot in the door!

BHP’s two-year program includes mentoring and buddy systems to get your career off to a great start. You’ll rotate through two to four roles to get a feel for what you want to do. And, if you’re keen to get in early, BHP offers internships to students in their second to penultimate year of uni.

Tackling climate change with maths

A very cool PhD project at Western Sydney University is using maths and blockchain technology (the tech behind bitcoin) to estimate the carbon emissions of buildings. Tracking emissions from power and building operations is straightforward, but it’s trickier to calculate the carbon from materials and building construction. This project sources accurate data from manufacturers to solve that problem. The blockchain system also makes sure the data stays secure. It stores many copies of the data, so if one copy is corrupted or changed, it can be fixed straight away.