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Polyus Class students learned about popular gold mining professions

Polyus Class students learned about popular gold mining professions

This year, Polyus held two workshops as part of the Polyus Class educational project. From 11-13 January, a series of events for Polyus Class students and teachers from partner schools was held at the Siberian Federal University to provide comprehensive knowledge of engineering.

The second half of the academic year will be dedicated to metals and mining professions, such as flotation plant operator, beneficiation engineer, hydro metallurgist, automation specialist, instrument control metallurgist, chemical assay lab assistant and health and occupational safety engineer. What do these professions involve? What are their specific features? What are the advantages of these professions? And what daily tasks do the specialists perform at the operating assets? The students performed several standalone laboratory works so that they could learn all about this in practice and not only in theory.

"I liked the fact that there was a lot of lab work. It’s more interesting and useful to check theoretical knowledge while doing some practice," - according to Anastasia Khizhaya, a student from school #6 in Achinsk, who shared her impressions about the workshops.

Sergey Bashkeev, deputy head of Pyromet laboratory at Polyus Research Center, elaborated more on the profession of metallurgist. The participants carried out two laboratory works to dive deep into electrolysis and smelting.

"This practical immersion was amazing! Meeting Mr. Korostovenko, Chair Professor for technosphere safety in metals and mining operations, was really impressive. He told us about this area and the profession of industrial safety engineer. We also learned about the history of the Non-ferrous Metals and Material Science Institute," - commented Leonid Kutko, a student from school #156 in Krasnoyarsk.

Teachers from Krasnoyark region who are interested in career guidance programs for their students also took part in training sessions. Twenty teachers from Krasnoyarsk, Achinsk, Kuraginsky District, Lesosibirsk, Kansk and Sosnovoborsk enrolled in the professional development program to support students in their choice of engineering specialization.

The professional development program was launched online in December 2022. Following a three-day in-person session, the training will continue online and conclude with the presentation of individual programs. By the end of the training, the teacher should have an individually developed program for assisting students in their career choice.

"It surprised me that in the media age, school graduates are very poorly informed about existing professions, the labor market situation and innovations in different professional areas. I’ve always been interested in how people determine their career path and interests. When I saw the opportunity to take training aimed at supporting students in their career choice, I was happy to gain new competencies and use them in practice in our school and raise student awareness," - said Marina Baykovskaya, a teacher at Kuraginsky Secondary School #3.

The Polyus Class students and their teachers are set to continue distance learning. They can look forward to new meetings, lessons and projects.

It is designed to provide support to students who wish to continue studying in technical and engineering universities. The Siberian Federal University is Polyus’ partner in implementing this project. The Polyus Class students continue to actively learn about gold mining professions to help them make an informed choice for their future occupations.

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