2006 Student-Industry-CRC Symposium

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The second annual Student-Industry-CRC Symposium was held in Gladstone, Queensland, on 18th-23rd June 2006. Two dozen post graduate students representing five energy and minerals CRCs and nine different universities participated in the symposium. All conference activities were held on the Marian Campus of Central Queensland University with student accommodation provided at the Tanyalla Conference Centre in Tannum Sands. Quick Links Program of Events Student Presentations Industry Tours Social Events Quotes from Students Quotes from Industry Additional Photographs

Program of Events

The event included a presentation by each student describing their postgraduate research, several workshops, a hypothetical session and tours of area industry with a variety of sundowners and social events.

> View the Program Booklet

The week began with a bus tour of industrial Gladstone that was led by Dr Glen Corder and highlighted the synergy opportunities in the region. The tour ended at the Marina Campus of Central Queensland University where all official symposium events took place.

bus tour to Queensland Alumina Ltd (QAL)

students at the QAL Lookout

Professor Jennelle Kyd (Pro Vice-Chancellor, CQU) welcomed students to the Symposium on Monday morning, 19th June. An Industry Roundtable session entitled "Careers in a Regional Area" was moderated by Dr Janine Lay of Rio Tinto. Participating panel members were George Bennetts (Gladstone Power Station), Dr Jason Connor (CQU), Bogdan Skomra (QAL) and the Mayor of Gladstone, Peter Corones.

Comalco's General Manager of Operations, Stephen Dumble, hosted a Rio Tinto sundowner on Monday evening. Some 15 Comalco and QAL employees mixed with students at the function.

Central Queensland University (CQU)

Janine Lay (Rio Tinto) presenting "Careers in a Regional Area"

Tuesday morning Mr Johann van Zyl (Managing Director of QAL) made a presentation entitled “Resource Processing and Sustainable Processing in Gladstone”. His talk highlighted the Gladstone Area Industrial Network (GAIN) Regional Synergies Project begun in 2003. Mr van Zyl also gave an overview of Queensland Alumina Refinery and the opportunities and contributions industry makes to the local Gladstone community.

On Tuesday evening Philip Bangerter (Hatch Engineering) hosted a hypothetical session “Success, Succession and Secession – Legacy and Innovation in 2026”. The panel members included Dr Glen Corder (SMI), Dr Jim Avraamides (Murdoch University), Wes Nichols (Callide Coal), Galina Ivanova (CQU), Dr Ken King (Gladstone Economic and Industry Development Board) and Melissa Russell (QAL). The session mimicked a radio call in show to involve students in considering a global future in which rising water and energy costs caused industry to develop even greater efficiencies in mineral processing and coal utilisation.

Philp Bangerter (Hatch) hosting the hypothetical session		Stevan Green (CSRP) presenting "Sustainability in the Minerals Industry"

Stevan Green (CEO of CSRP) presented a talk called "Sustainability in the Minerals Industry”. This interactive session explored the whole concept of sustainability even debating the validity of using the term “sustainable” in a minerals context. There was general agreement on the idea that a primary goal of sustainable development must be to “meet the needs of today’s society without compromising future generations’ ability to do the same.”

Two student workshops were also conducted. “Sustainability and Synergies in the Energy and Minerals Sector” was led by Dr Glen Corder and had students design strategies that could better utilise the by products of Gladstone industries with an eye towards a “zero waste” goal in the future. Dr Janine Lay engaged students in a series of exercises aimed at developing communications skills in a session called “The Role of Networking in Your Career”.

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Student Presentations

All students made 15 minute Power Point presentations with a 5 minute question and answer session describing their thesis research. For the second consecutive year, Rio Tinto sponsored scholarship prises totalling $2500 for the most outstanding presentations. All participants were given presentation guidelines aimed at allowing them to describe their work in a manner that was understandable to other participants. Judges used a structured matrix that scored presentations based on technical content, structure, personal style, presentation skills and overall impression. Dr Janine Lay, Dr Jim Avraamides and Dr Nick Welham acted as symposium judges and scored the talks.

judges (left to right) Jim Avraamides, Nick Welham and Janine Lay

Jacqueline Medvecka

Rohan Stanger

Once again, the quality of research presented by participants was high. Each session was chaired by a participating student. The broad scope of projects reported allowed the students to learn of developments in research outside of their specific area of concern and yet related to the broader field of energy and mineral processing.

Glen Corder asking questions

Mohammad Hadi Zulfiqar

reviewing a presentation

 

First Place (1 x $750) Nathan Reid, University of Adelaide and CRC for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration “Biogeochemical and Geobotanical Associations of the Tanami Region: Links to Minerals Exploration Potential”
Second Place (1 x $500) Luke McArthur, Central Queensland University and the Process Engineering and Light Metals Centre “Impact of Resolution on NIR PLS Calibration of Kaolinite Content with Weipa Bauxite”
Third Place (3 x $250) Elizabeth Hodge, University of New South Wales and CRC for Coal in Sustainable Development “Gasification of Coal Char under High Temperature and High Pressure Conditions” Jacqueline Medvecka, University of Queensland and the Centre for Sustainable Resource Processing “Thinking Sustainability in Projects for the Metal Industry” Shah Pushan, Macquarie University and CRC for Coal in Sustainable Development “Trace Elements Analysis of Coal Combustion Systems”
Best Honours Presentation and Most Enjoyable Abstract (1 x $250) Ross Williams, Curtin University of Technology and the Centre for Sustainable Resource Processing “Characterisation of Starting Materials for Fly Ash Based Geopolymers”
Bravery Award – First Presentation in English (1 x $250) Peerapong Jitsangian, Curtin University of Technology and the Centre for Sustainable Resource Processing “Performance, Evaluation and Enhancement of Red Sand for Road Bases, Embankments and Seawalls”
first place: Nathan Reid	second place: Luke McArthur	all student presentation winners

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Industry Tours

Industry tours were held on Monday afternoon and Friday morning with students visiting the following Gladstone industries: Central Queensland Port Authority, the Gladstone Power Station, Comalco Alumina Refinery and the Boyne Aluminium Smelter. The Monday morning synergies tour also included Orica Australia, Cement Australia and Queensland Energy Resources Ltd.

Boyne Aluminium Smelter	Boyne Aluminium Smelter
Central Queensland Port Authority	Central Queensland Port Authority

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Social Events

Each night the students were involved in social events at which they continued networking with each other as well as industry and academic participants. Socials and meals were sponsored by the Central Queensland Port Authority, Queensland Alumina Limited, Queensland Energy Resources Limited and Rio Tinto.

students and staff participating in the quiz night		dinner at Tanyalla

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Quotes from Students

• “It was a very exciting experience for me because I was able to meet people from different backgrounds (offcourse different from engineering!) like Geologist, chemistry and environmental sciences. The entire week was engrossing with plenty of information to share and talk about. We had a good chat and some serious discussion on Sustainability in Industry. For the first time I came to know about the term ‘Red Mud’ and its implications. …I would say this symposium was full of information to share and grasp. It was good place to develop network and also a good career launch pad.”
  Sameer Khare, University of Newcastle, CCSD CRC

• “This symposium was a thrill. I didn’t expect to learn so much and to be part of such a convivial group. Apart from one or two exceptions, everybody thought the same. At first some of us thought the organisation could have been a bit tighter and less loose time would be better. But on reflection this ‘free time with nothing to do’ gave us the opportunity to get to know each other on a deeper level. Maybe that’s why we enjoyed each other company so much.”
  Jacqueline Medvecka, University of Queensland, Centre for Sustainable Resource Processing

• “The Student-Industry-CRC Symposia was a week where students from different minerals related CRC’s could present their work to industry sponsors and other students. There was a lot of inter-CRC networking and discussions with industry partners as well as plant tours to the NRG Powerplant, Gladstone Port Authority, Boyne Aluminium Smelter and the Comalco Alumina Refinery. I thought the symposium was a great time for meeting like-minded students in a friendly atmosphere. There were a lot of great student presentations which highlighted their enthusiasm for research. The contacts with industry were also important because even though most of the students were far from finished with their research, it was good to get an idea for what the industries were looking for in terms of employees.”
  Nathan Reid, University of Adelaide, Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration CRC

• “The symposium was fantastic. Not only did I become aware of the work others have been doing into sustainable resource processing, but also gained insight into how industry views sustainability. Furthermore, I also made some valuable industry contacts and am more informed on the expectations and role of an industrial scientist. From the social side, the activities and meals were a blast. I would definitely attend again.”
  Luke McArthur, Central Queensland University, Process Engineering and Light Metals Centre

• “Overall I feel a huge benefit for us to meet other fellow students who all showed a great energy and eagerness to pursue their chosen career. We were all able to learn each other’s project and somehow able to relate our project to them, thus gaining a new perspective to our research. We were all have a common vision of being an ethically responsible engineer/scientist, working towards a better engineering practice/design without compromising our responsibility to the environment. At the end of the week we formed a great bond together and willing to keep in contact for future benefit.”
  Mohammad Hadi Zulfiqar, University of Newcastle, CCSD

CSRP students and staff

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Quotes from Industry

• “I was a strong supporter… before the event − and attending was proof of the concept. Let’s make sure we repeat next year. I found the topics all very good − there was a strong sustainable development component, so that was very pleasing. So many of the presentations were first-rate it must have been hard to pick a winner; I have certainly carried on conversations with two of the presenters and passed the probable job-seekers through to our recruitment process.”
  Philip Bangerter, Hatch Engineering

• [Our] “…postgraduate students thoroughly enjoyed the conference. The life of a postgraduate student can be a bit protected and blinkered by the focused nature of their research; so this conference gave them an opportunity to meet early-career researchers from other parts of Australia. The experience of presenting and fielding questions was also beneficial. I am grateful to the CSRP for the opportunity to be part of your symposium and hope that this may lead to other opportunities for collaboration in the future.
  Warren Thorpe, Director, PELM Centre

• "The student symposium enabled our alumina refinery and smelter staff the rare opportunity to hear about leading edge research only 30 minutes drive from their place of work. All involved found this both valuable to their work and to their enthusiasm as engineers and scientists." Janine Lay, Rio Tinto

• “I believe the future is in achieving alignment of our education systems with industry to best deliver value to industry and community. Consequently there is definitive need to encourage interaction and on going influence between both. I believe also that innovation and creativity and these attributes must be fostered and encouraged in these individuals (the PhD students) for the benefit of our society." [Reflections upon his participation in the 2006 symposium.]
  George Bennetts, Manager of Health Safety and Environment, NRG Gladstone Operating Services Pty Ltd.

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> View additional photographs

participants in the 2006 Student-Industry-CRC symposium