Director's Welcome - February 2021
Welcome to the first e-newsletter of 2021.
It’s been a busy start to the year here at SMI – our webinar series is up and running again, we are co-hosting the Life of Mine Conference in April with AusIMM, our professional development calendar for the first half of the year is online, and a number of new courses are in development.
Along with Curtin University and the Minerals Council of Australia we announced a new online Professional Certificate on the Foundations of Modern Mining late last year. This is a very exciting development that will increase understanding of the modern mining industry in Australia and open pathways to postgraduate study for people currently working within the industry.
Our 2020 graduates were finally able to attend their graduation ceremony last week, and it was wonderful to share their success with them and their families. I was also deeply moved to receive a gift on behalf of SMI from the graduating students. The ceremony reminded me that educating the next generation of leaders, is one of the keys to ensuring a sustainable future.
Education through on-site training and research was a core principle of the JKMRC when it was established half a century ago, and we are currently busy planning the 50th anniversary celebration for the Centre, which was postponed last year due to COVID-19.
Unfortunately, we are still limited in the number of people physically attending the event on 18 March, but we hope many of you who have worked, studied, or partnered with the Centre will join us ‘virtually’ to hear from JK’s leaders both past and present.
We’d also love to hear from past students and employees, and we are currently creating a short video with personal reflections to be played during the event. If you would like to share a memory of your experience at the Centre, you can find details of how to do this, and how to register to attend, on the event webpage.
On March 25 Susan Johnston, who leads SMI’s Governance and Leadership program, will be hosting a High Reliability Organisations (HRO) Forum at the Customs House in Brisbane and online. The Forum will explore the question of how resources sector companies, and regulators, can achieve higher reliability; particularly as regards safety and health outcomes. The Forum follows on from last year's Queensland Government commissioned Review of All Fatal Accidents in Queensland Mines and Quarries from 2000 to 2019 which recommended that 'the industry should adopt the principles of HRO theory'. The Forum will draw on expertise from across the University to provide insights into implementation of this theory, and more generally, into what a drive towards high reliability might entail.
I hope you enjoy the e-newsletter, and as ever, we welcome your feedback.
