New geology program offers experience with study.

In Sudbury efforts are underway at Laurentian University to institute a unique cooperative geology program.

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As part of a recent redesign of the Honours Bachelor of Sciences in Geology program, Harold Gibson, professor of Volcanology and Ore Deposits, is looking to provide an opportunity for students to emerge into the workforce with actual experience.

"It's going to be geared towards providing students with a very strong, very rigorous scientific background, but the work terms are going to be designed so that they provide the student with a very solid background in field mapping and exploration techniques," he says.

This staged co-operative program option is slated to be available in the second year of the four-year program as of September 2007. It will find students spending their summers in the field, putting their academic learning to practical use in various mining-related environments with industry mentorship.

In their first summer, students will work with a federal or provincial geological survey, learning the basics of field mapping and other field work. Their second placement period will be spent within an exploration company, working at additional field mapping and possibly drill core logging, as well as associated work. The third year will find placement students in underground mining positions, obtaining general underground experience, while learning how to conduct underground mapping and ore reserve estimation techniques.

"At the end of their program, they will have three very high-quality summers' of experience, essentially 12 months' worth," says Gibson. "It will take them through the very basics of surface mapping, exploration and understanding of geology to having a good grasp of how it's done underground."

With slots for an estimated six students at the outset, the selection criteria for the co-operative option will likely be strict, says Gibson, requiring not only strong academic performance, but also individual passion, dedication, and determination.

This is especially true given the demanding level of work required of students in this program. Students will spend September through April in class, followed by a work placement period that will consume their summer before rolling them back into class in the fall. Graduates will emerge into the workforce not in May, but in September, as a result of their placement.

Laurentian's proposed approach to the program is unique, says Gibson, who points out that co-operative work programs in other universities are either not staged, or take place during the fall and winter. By suggesting that the placement periods occur during the summer when the bulk of geological work is done, the program is uniquely primed for providing highly practical experience to its students. Another unique feature includes the introduction of a handful of exploration-related workshops throughout the year, which will be mandatory to the co-op students and optional for everyone else. The program provides students with not only one year of practical experience, but also all academic requirements needed to register as a professional geologist in Ontario, which graduates of the new option will be able to consider after receiving their diploma.

When establishing the foundations of the program, Gibson spoke with officials from Xstrata Nickel, Inco Ltd and Barrick Gold Corp., with positive responses from each.

"My intention will be to support it in my capacity here, though I haven't really gone down that road with the board yet," says Scott McLean, regional exporation geologist, Xstrata Nickel and past president of Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario.

"So many times, you have students that come out with an education, and they really have no experience base, they don't know how to map, they don't know how to do the practical things that we need them to do. They way Laurentian has set this up, it's a better package in that you come out with the same level of geoscience foundation from textbooks, but you're also polishing it up with pragmatic skills development."

www.laurentian.ca

By NICK STEWART

Northern Ontario Business