Developing a new skill set for future mining engineers

In this case, students have access to the study material and recordings of the collaboration sessions are saved for future reference or for downloading.

Online classes also mean online assessment. Ensuring the integrity of assessment was one on the key priorities of the Department during the period under review. Lecturers adopted various online assessment methods in accordance with their teaching styles.

Traditional question banks and new questions were reworked into the online test environment, where the system allows for questions to be randomised for presentation to candidates – essentially creating a new paper for each student. In modules requiring calculations, the students are allowed to add scripts illustrating their calculation approach. These submissions then allow the lecturer to compare the online test result and adjust grades accordingly.

Ultimately the online assessment approach enables tests to focus more on the application of theory than on learn-andremember, theory-based questions. This takes the depth of learning to the next cognitive level.

As the degree programme’s capstone module, which sees students’ knowledge obtained over the course of their studies come together, Mine Design received special approval for students to access the campus to prepare their final report and take oral examinations. However, this occurred under strict COVID-19 guidelines.

STUDENT WELLBEING

An important focus of the Department is the wellbeing of its students. Due to its comparatively small lecturer-tostudent ratio, the Department is able to interact personally with all its students. Its interaction with its students takes place according to a value-driven framework, in which the principle of heartfelt leadership features prominently. Furthermore, its Student Wellbeing Committee offers emotional and other support to students, especially those in need. In the extraordinary circumstances brought about by the nationwide lockdown, several challenges had to be overcome. These included providing students with data, access to laptops and the narrated recording of lectures. Under normal circumstances, students are assisted in other ways as well, including the provision of prescription glasses, daily meals, accommodation and registration fees.

MURRAY & ROBERTS MINING ENGINEERING LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

The Department’s M&R MELA is a critical part of exposing final-year Mining Engineering students to workplace leadership challenges and opportunities they will encounter once they enter the industry. The programme’s aim is to create awareness and skill students in leadership. In this way, students are guided not only to discover their own leadership potential, but also to unleash and cultivate their individual leadership qualities.

The M&R MELA programme continued during the second half of 2020 primarily through online sessions under restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As always, students were divided into teams of four for the Mine Design course. To this end, the leadership week activities took place online via the ClickUP platform. The group assignment presentations that emanated from the leadership week were the first socially distanced contact sessions with the examination panel of four, together with the four design students that made up each team. This constituted the first on-campus event in August 2020. These assignments focused on specific aspects of mine design: community and human settlements, mine closure and post-mine activities and women in mining. The team-building event took place as a day event during the last quarter of 2020 without a sleep-over as was the case in previous years. Mr Mike da Costa, CEO of Murray & Roberts Underground Mining Business Platform joined the group for the event. He contributed to the students’ experience by highlighting the importance of teamwork in the mining Industry.

With the relaxation of the lockdown restrictions at the beginning of 2021, the programme could continue on campus with contact sessions under strict rules.