Unitech, Australian university commit to research partnership

The University of Queensland (UQ) has partnered with the Papua New Guinea University of Technology (Unitech) to support sustainable development outcomes across the country’s resources sector.
President and UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Hoj AC and Unitech Vice-Chancellor Ora Renagi signed the agreement in Port Moresby, committing to collaborate across education and research activities.
The partnership builds on previous collaboration in mineral processing education, as well as a history of joint involvement in agricultural and animal science research.
Industry partner Newcrest Mining and the Australian department of foreign affairs and trade (DFAT) have both contributed funding to identify priority areas and project concepts.
Newcrest will also fund scholarships for three PNG PhD students to develop their research at UQ, with a view to growing technical expertise and supporting social and community development within the country’s mining sector.
Director of UQ’s sustainable minerals institute Prof Neville Plint said the multi-faceted partnership will build in scope and strengthen long-lasting collaboration between the two institutions.
“Unitech is PNG’s principal institution for teaching mining-related disciplines, while UQ is ranked third in the world for mining and mineral engineering,” he said.
“Together, we have great potential to shape the sustainable development of our region’s resource industry.”
“Many Unitech researchers and staff have worked with UQ in recent years, supported by the Australia Awards Programme and other Australian government initiatives, to help build capacity within PNG.
“We now look forward to even more people-to-people links with our neighbours in the Pacific, working with Newcrest and other partners to deliver impact.”
Head of the department of mining engineering at Unitech, Dr Gabriel Arpa, welcomed the strengthened relationship between the two universities.
“Working together in research and education activities will help build the human capital we need to support the significant resource developments planned for the region and to maximise the benefits of these developments for the people of PNG,” he said.
The letter of intent between UQ and Unitech was signed on July 31.
UQ’s sustainable minerals institute is a world leading research institute committed to developing knowledge-based solutions to the sustainability challenges facing the global mining and resource industry and to training the next generation of industry and community leaders.