The University of Queensland (UQ) will remain at the forefront of mining education with the opening of the Newcrest Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Laboratory this week.
Funded by a $270,000 contribution from Newcrest Mining Limited (Newcrest), the Newcrest HVAC Laboratory will enhance UQ’s delivery of courses to develop specialised mining skills and knowledge in the application of fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and heat transfer in various heating and cooling processes.
The Laboratory was officially opened by the Hon Stirling Hinchliffe MP, Queensland Minister for Employment, Skills and Mining and attended by a range of senior UQ academic staff, Newcrest representatives and invited guests.
UQ’s Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Keniger said the Newcrest HVAC Laboratory will ensure UQ’s engineering graduates have advanced skills in areas critical to the future of the resources sector.
“The project would not have been possible without the generosity of Newcrest, but perhaps most important of all is our joint investment in the people who will drive the Australian mining industry forwards in the next decade and beyond,” Professor Keniger said.
Funding for the new laboratory equipment is part of Newcrest’s almost $2.5 million long-term commitment to UQ, which includes $480,000 in scholarship support for engineering students over the next five years and $250,000 over the next ten years for mining engineering research projects, together with other ongoing research projects.
Newcrest’s Executive General Manager People and Communications, Debra Stirling, said that Newcrest had a long and rewarding partnership with UQ.
“Today’s students are tomorrow’s graduates and from them will come the next generation of mining technology engineers who will lead the resources sector into the future.
“The partnership between Newcrest and UQ is an excellent example of University-industry collaboration to provide improved education to mining graduates. This in turn will enable them to develop the skills and capacity for innovation they need to help build a stronger, more sustainable mining industry,” Ms Stirling said.
Minister for Employment, Skills and Mining, Stirling Hinchliffe, congratulated UQ and Newcrest on providing important training opportunities to help meet Queensland’s workforce needs.
“This facility will help meet the growing demand for highly-qualified engineers, particularly, in the construction, infrastructure and resources sector and the burgeoning coal seam gas industry, where an estimated 750 engineers will be needed by 2020,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
Media: Madelene Flanagan, m.flanagan@uq.edu.au or 07 3365 8525
