Archive for category: News

Within the framework of the ProSkill project the activity ‘Spend a Day With Me’ has been organised by partner universities. Students could benefit from a one-day programme in which they met the manager of a company, plant or mine. The activity included a guided visit to the company site and an informal lunch or dinner with the managers. Thanks to this experience the students could learn about managerial skills. If you would like to know how the activity was organised by the different universities, keep reading below.

 

The Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovakia

Four students of the Faculty of Materials Science and Technology in Trnava visited the company IKEA Industry Slovakia in Trnava as part of the ProSkill activity ‘Spend a Day with Me’ on March 31, 2022. The Ikea Industry Slovakia is an integrated part of the Inter IKEA Group, one of the world’s largest producers of wooden furniture.

Students had the opportunity to meet the company managers and see the process of furniture production from the distribution of large-format sheets, through the production itself to the completion of the assortment in a box and its subsequent storage and distribution to IKEA stores around the world.

 

 

Due to the active modernization of processes, which is taking place in the IKEA Industry Trnava, students had the opportunity to see, among other things, modern technologies in the wood processing industry and in which direction the production of furniture could go in the future. The excursion continued in the grinding mill, which is an integral part of the production and where an expert explanation was given showing the method of renovation of tools used in the manufacture of furniture, such as drills and saws.

 

 

Managers also presented the business policy and focus of the company with the vision of creating a better everyday life for as many people as possible. For this reason, in addition to the production itself, great emphasis is currently placed on the environment and waste management, namely, processing the waste into such a form that it is again a raw material. Students also visited the waste management premises, where it was possible to see the method of current processing and storage of waste in the company, along with the presentation of plans for implementation in the future. The students ended the tour with the introduction of software that is based on cloud solutions for the storage and handling of chemicals to increase the profitability of the company and create sustainability.

 

The Silesian University of Technology, Poland

The three students of the Silesian University participating in the activity ‘Spend a Day With Me’ visited the company Jastrzebskie Zakłady Remontowe (Jastrzębie Repair Plants, JZR) on 27 April 2022. The visit was hosted by Adam Bosowski, Vice President of the Management Board and Technical Director of the company. The company was established in 1998 as a subsidiary of the Jastrzębska Coal Company to integrate repair services in the field of mining machinery and equipment for all mines of the company. In the following years, the company gradually expanded its business profile, introducing its own original products, both relatively simple, such as underground transport container systems, pipes and rail tracks, as well as complex structures such as mechanized hydraulic supports, scrapers or belt conveyors.

 

 

The students’ visit to the company consisted of three parts:

• Presentation of the company’s history, its structure, main products, applied production technologies, management methods and IT support for production.
• Visit the technological lines in the company’s newest production plant.
• Meeting the Vice President of JZR during lunch combined with a discussion about the JZR company, its activities and management.

 

The Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic

As a part of the ‘Spend a Day with Me” activity, two students from the Department of Economics and Control Systems, took part in a one-day internship at RAMITEL (a division of RAMICORP). The company focuses mostly on comprehensive services for massively reaching out to potential customers to build a nationwide B2B base. They offer the opportunity to get any product or service to as many business customers as possible.

 

 

The founder and CEO of RAMITEL, Radim Mikulik, introduced students to a common daily schedule of a top manager and acquainted them with the operation of the company and his responsibilities. Students had the opportunity to experience what it is like to perform managerial tasks. There was also a discussion about how to find a gap in the market and how to start a successful trading company. The activity also included an informal dinner in which the whole day was discussed.

 

 

The University of Miskolc, Hungary

The two students participating from the University of Miskolc visited a limestone mine from the STRABAG group in Miskolc on 15 February 2022. They had the opportunity to meet the managers and learn about mining and the functioning and management of the company: logistics, sales, financial aspects and customers. They also learned about the challenges related to the expansion of the company to Slovakia. In addition, the students had an informal lunch with the managers in which interesting topics could be discussed. 

The EU-funded project ProSkill aims to develop a high-skill ecosystem to tackle skill problems and gaps in the mineral raw materials industry of the Visegrád countries. One of the activities organised to achieve this is the ProSkill International Mentoring Programme, coordinated by project partner European Federation of Geologists (EFG).

Mentoring is a training process in which experienced professionals (mentors) guide other individuals (mentees) in their professional development in a targeted way and over a fixed period. 

The ProSkill International Mentoring Programme is matching students (mentees) from project partner universities with industry professionals (mentors). The employees of the future will have to adapt to new challenges and changes in the industry. In addition, they will need to develop both technical and soft skills, which are not necessarily learnt at university. The mentors are experienced professionals who are European Geologists’ title holders. Their vast experience can help mentees to know which are the current and future needs of the industry.

 Some of the benefits the mentees can obtain are:

• broadening their professional network 
• improving technical knowledge in a particular field 
• improving leadership/management skills 
• acquiring practical tools and strategies for the transition from a junior role into roles with higher responsibilities 
• benefiting from insider knowledge about work perspectives in another geosciences sector or other countries and obtaining practical advice and contacts

If you would like to know more about the EFG/ProSkill International Mentoring programme, you can find more information here: https://eurogeologists.eu/efgeomentoring 

 

  Join us on a fascinating workshop on mentoring in the field of raw materials.  The workshop ‘Effective ways of mentoring and other best practices in the raw materials industries‘ will be on 6 May 2021, 16:30 – 18:00 CEST (Brussels time). Engineering Geologist Ruth Allington will be moderating the session. Two longstanding mentors, John […]