Course e Summ mary & A Annual R Report F FEMP 2 011 - 20 012

Course Summary and Annual Report FEMP 2011 - 2012
The costs to the universities are the teaching costs for 50-60 students estimated at some 1 million Euros,
this includes 45 taught subjects and organisational matters. The co-operation now reduces the cost to an
economical level, as the partner universities do each take care of part of the education.
The extra costs for students (in addition to what they normally need during the year) amount on average
to € 4,000 per student, of which up to € 1,000 has been covered by travel bursaries from the European
Commission (Erasmus / Socrates program). The other € 3,000 is mainly the costs of accommodation.
These costs have been covered through contributions of the industry via the Federation of European
Mineral Programs (FEMP.
EDUCATIONAL MATTERS
Review programs
After 15 years of operations the programs and the learning goals are being evaluated and will be modified
to reflect the requirements of today and of the future. Based on the educational objectives the most
important learning outcomes that need to be achieved should be carefully defined and applied e.g.:
1. The ability to apply knowledge of mining and/or minerals and/or geotechnical, science, and
engineering
2. The ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
3. The ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
4. The understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
5. The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global,
economic, environmental, and societal context
6. The ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering
practice.
All three options will review the programs during this year and changes will be implemented in the
academic year 2013 - 2014
Erasmus Mundus Program
All 50 Erasmus Mundus students who started in September 2011 are in the process of finishing one of the
three options of EMC, EMEC or EGEC during 2012 - 2013. The 2012-2014 cohort will be the last one
under the 5 year Erasmus Mundus contract. The FEMP partners are of the opinion that it is frustrating to
continue to work with Brussels. The contract was one-sidedly changed in 2009, which resulted in about
70% less income for the partners. The general experience with Erasmus Mundus was that the financial
benefits were decreasing, while the requirements of work performed by the consortium (especially the
coordinator) were increasing. In the fall of 2011 it was decided not to apply in 2012 for the second five
years of funding. Quite often Brussels does not award these new applications and if they do, the amount
of funding will further decrease. Brussels expects that the consortia will establish funding from industry
after the first 5 years.
FUTURE OF FEMP
FEMP has grown, since the establishment of the European Mineral Programs, 15 years ago, to an
organization with 35 industrial members, 6 academic members, enrolment of more than 60 students per
year and a total of about 660 alumni. In periods of booming mining economy FEMP has proven to be a
very good instrument for the industry to prepare young mining and minerals engineers for an international
career. These graduates have received a thorough international education and are employed in many
countries around the world by a large variety of multinational mining and other companies
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