Kenjiro Itadani, managing director of Mitsubishi Development, signed a memorandum of understanding with vice-chancellor professor Wyatt Hume at a mining industry and alumni dinner hosted by UNSW late last month. In 2004, the sponsorship will fund an annual Mitsubishi Lecture Series in Surface Mining, a rural scholarship in mining engineering, a school prize and a series of undergraduate lectures suitable for distance education.
“Mitsubishi has been involved in the coal mining industry for more than 30 years and we have a strong commitment to this country,” said Itadani. “As good corporate citizens we have a policy of public donation. We were looking for an organisation to utilise our funds in the most efficient and effective manner when we encountered the University of New South Wales. We are convinced this is the best organisation for us to donate to and I am delighted to support the School of Mining Engineering.”
The Mitsubishi Lecture in Surface Mining will feature prominent international speakers. The Mitsubishi Prize in Surface Mining will be awarded to a fourth year UNSW Mining Engineering student. The Mitsubishi Rural Scholarship in Mining Engineering, also to be offered from 2004, is aimed at first-year mining students from Australia's rural areas.
Professor Bruce Hebblewhite, head of the School of Mining Engineering, said with Mitsubishi's support for a minerals education program, UNSW could ensure an adequate supply of quality graduates in the future.
“In providing a rural undergraduate scholarship and distance education programs, we are hoping we can target students who have a particular affinity for working in mining locations around Australia - people who have both intellectual and practical ability and a genuine love of the outdoors.”
Mitsubishi Development is a major stakeholder in several joint venture coal mining operations in NSW and Queensland. It hopes to build a long-term relationship with UNSW, a major provider of tertiary mining education and continuing development opportunities for industry professionals. Australia's Mining Monthly
