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The second batch students of “Smart Mining Special Program” completed the program in September, 2024.
Q1. What are your impressions of the Smart Mining Special Program?
Q2. Which was the most attractive course?
Q3. How would you use the knowledge you have acquired through this program?
 
A1: I am thrilled to have participated in the brilliant "Smart Mining Special Program." Its organization is remarkable, bringing together master’s students from Japanese and Southern African universities to share academic knowledge, culture, and other social and economic aspects. The way lectures are conducted is also remarkable; imagine being taught by more than ten lecturers from prestigious universities such as Akita University, Kyushu University, Hokkaido University, and the University of Witwatersrand (Wits). Can you imagine how much knowledge this program equips its participants with?
The program's commitment to providing knowledge to African students from Southern African countries rich in mineral resources is exceptional. The academic structure of the program is great, involving coursework, practical group discussions, and field trips to active mining sites and mining museums. This gives participants a good understanding of the challenges the mining industry faces and provides room for critical thinking to solve problems using Digital Mining Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
Globally, the Smart Mining Special Program is very important because it not only imparts valuable mining knowledge to its participants but also focuses on mining environment sustainability after mining closures, which is crucial for world development.
 
A2:  I found every course in the Smart Mining Program to be very attractive and valuable. The program's focus on providing a comprehensive educational experience was reflected in the variety of courses it offered. Each course had excellent, world-class content depth, bridging the gap between theory and practical applications. Two courses that stood out to me as particularly interesting were “Collaborative Training of DigiMine” and “Collaborative Research Project”.
Collaborative Training of DigiMine, which we had the opportunity to take at the DigiMine laboratory at Wits University in South Africa, was awesome. This course provided invaluable insights into the most recent technological advancements in mining and their practical applications. The second was “Collaborative Research Project” that was about Machine Learning training and its application in the mining industry. The “application of machine learning on the classification of Bushveld Geochemical data of Chromite layers in South Africa” was an exploration-based technique that showed us how valuable AI and ML are in the mining industry. My group presented this at Akita University in Japan. This course offered proof of the application of AI and ML in geochemical analysis and geological classification in the mining industry.
 
A3：The Smart Mining Program has provided me with extensive knowledge, spanning from exploration to mining closure. I now understand that mining is not only about extracting mineral resources from the environment, but also that environmental sustainability is critical. With my current affiliation to the mining industry in Zambia, I will apply the diverse cultural insights I have gained from the great people of Japan, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe to contribute positively to the development of my country, Zambia. The Smart Mining Program has trained me not only to manage mineral resources in my country but also in the entire Southern region of Africa. Together, we can make a difference.