Geoscience Australia has unveiled a beta version of its Classroom Resources web portal, designed to provide access to educational resources produced by the agency.
Geoscience Australia produces teaching resources for primary and secondary levels. Resources include background information, student activities, full-colour cut-out 3D models and posters. For more information contact education@ga.gov.au or visit the classroom resources web page.
AIG has implemented an initiative to endorse training and other forms of continued professional development offered to Australian geoscientists by companies and educational institutions.
Under this initiative, groups seeking endorsement of their training and CPD offerings are required to provide AIG with full details of the course outline and content, and collect structured feedback from all attendees which is also made available to AIG and used to assess the ongoing endorsement of the course. AIG members are also offered discounted registration. Endorsement submissions are rigorously assessed by AIG’s Education sub-committee.
In return, continued professional development providers are entitled to use AIG’s continued professional development logo in promoting their endorsed offerings.
The initiative aims to help promote high quality continued professional development products and services and improve their accessibility by AIG members.
AIG congratulates Reflex on being the first group to have achieved endorsement of their continued professional development courses under the programme.
More information regarding the programme is available from AIG’s Councillor responsible for Education and former President of the Institute, Kaylene Camuti.
Asperger Services Australia, a Brisbane based not for profit agency assisting people with Asperger’s syndrome has launched a new service designed to assist human resources professionals maximise the performance of individuals in their workplaces with this condition.
Asperger’s Syndrome is an autistic spectrum condition that may affect more than one in every hundred people and may manifest itself in many different ways, but many individuals with the condition work every day, making highly valued, creative and innovative contributions in their chosen fields.
The new service provides managers and co-workers with training and information intended to enhance their interactions with co-workers affected by the condition, providing understanding that helps to enhance the performance of individuals in the workplace.
More information is available here.
AMIRA International is building Data Metallogenica (http://dmgeode.com) as a web-based not-for-profit global encyclopaedia of ore deposits for the mining industry and associated institutions. While it is still growing at a rapid rate, Data Metallogenic already contains quality technical information on over 5,000 mineral deposits of all kinds from around the world. It has been supported by over 150 mining & exploration companies, many geological surveys and many professional societies/associations.
Some years ago, the Australian Institute of Geoscientists became a Foundation Sponsor of Data Metallogenica to assist its continued growth.
AIG members, as a result of the Institute’s support for the Data Metallogenica initiative, entitles members to subscribe as individuals to Data Metallogenica for $100 per year for unlimited access and downloads (this is a 50% discount compared to the normal individual subscription rate). Subscriptions may be purchased on-line via the Data Metallogenica website. We hope you find Data Metallogenica of interest and can support us in our future growth. This can be done on-line on the website.
Some points of interest:
The website contains several different databases:
The deposit database can be quickly searched by many different criteria eg name, country, commodity class, availability of high-quality sample photographs (70,000 representative samples of ore, alteration, host rocks) or spectral mineralogy, and many special categories such as geology, regolith, core photos, historical data etc
Over 80 full geoscience theses for specific deposits are currently available on the website
All deposits appear on a Google map which can be instantly zoomed to the maximum allowed
Almost all information can be immediately translated to any of about 80 languages making DM extremely valuable for international reference, training and education (eg all European & Scandinavian languages, Arabic, Russian, most Asian languages including Mandarin, Japanese and Hindi, Swahili, Afrikaans etc etc)
Previous sponsors of DM have given free access to many universities and geological surveys in developing countries, helping train the next generation of economic geologists.
It is hoped to add a wiki component soon so others can add their unique information and photos for specific deposits so that we preserve much fragile knowledge before it is too late.
Further information about the Data Metallogenica project and recent developments is provided by presentations on the web site.
If you like what we are doing or what you see, please tell others about Data Metallogenica. Remember the website is continually growing and improvements being added.
Alan Goode
Director – Data Metallogenica
AMIRA International
Level 2, 271 William St
Melbourne 3000
AIG Western Australia Branch Mentoring Program Launch!
AIG Western Australia Branch is proud to announce that applications are now open for the inaugural 2015 student and graduate mentoring program. We are currently looking for 15 mentors and mentees who are keen to enrol.
The AIG Mentoring Program is an initiative of the newly formed National Graduate Committee to provide undergraduate students, MSc/PhD Candidates and early-career geoscientists with practical advice and feedback from senior industry professionals.
The inaugural WA scheme will run through the 2015 August to December university semester, allowing time for the development of strong relationships between mentees and mentors. Mentor-mentee contact will be through formal meetings and social events.
You must be an AIG member to participate in the program.
If you are interested, and would like to give back to the industry as a mentor, or want the opportunity to learn as a mentee, please complete an application form and return it to mentoring@aig.org.au, with the subject ‘WA MENTORING – MENTOR’ or ‘WA MENTORING – MENTEE’.
Further information regarding the program is available here. Further details and expression of interest forms for both mentees and mentors are available here.
