Mr Ndou Desmond and Ms Tivane Precious (both doing 4th year in Mining and Environmental Geology) offered by the Department of Earth Sciences under the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Agriculture were among the six students who represented South Africa recently in the II International Geological Championship held in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Ufa in Russia. The Championship brought together more than 250 geology students and professionals from about 10 countries (such countries included China, Guinea, Ghana, Mozambique, South Africa, Georgia, the Russian Republic, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, etc.). The Championship aimed to test and enhance the participants’ knowledge and practical skills in various fields of geology. It allowed the students to deepen and sharpen their knowledge and skills on different concepts and aspects of geology. The challenges undertaken by the participants were designed to promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills while helping foster collaboration among the students.
Picture of Ms Tivane Precious and Mr Ndou Desmond
In the official opening ceremony of the II International Geological Championship, the Minister of Mineral Resources (Republic of Bashkortostan) welcomed all the participants. The ceremony also featured a career exhibition session, during which participants (especially the students) learned about different opportunities in the Russian Mining Sector.
A picture of the participants from different African countries during the Championship opening ceremony
A group picture of the South African participants in the II International Geological Championship
A series of geological challenges were followed by the official opening. The UNIVEN students par-ticipated in (i) palaeontology where they had to identify and classify different fossils and establish their types, order, genus, and geochronological age. This challenge required the students to in-terpret ancient life forms and reconstruct the environment and conditions that supported them. They also participated in the (ii) mineralogy and petrology challenge that focused on minerals and rock identification.
The challenge tested their ability to distinguish between the different types of rocks while interpret-ing their mode of formation and alteration processes. They were also part of the team that com-peted in the (iii) Hydrogeology and the (iv) Oil and Gas Exploration challenges. In the hydrogeology challenge, the participants assessed groundwater flow, contamination risks, and the dynamics of water tables while the Oil and Gas Exploration challenge was about integrating geological and geophysical methods as well as the engineering principles to identify the reservoir and develop appropriate extraction strategies. Lastly, the team competed in (v) Geological Route Mapping, (vi) Geological Sectioning, and (vii) Geochemistry. The pictures of the UNIVEN students participating in the different challenges are shown below.
In addition to the exposure the students received through participating in the Championship, they also had an opportunity to compare their training at the University of Venda with that received by their peers in other countries. Ms Tivane expressed her excitement by stating how the Champi-onship helped her recognise the international relevance of the education she is receiving at the University of Venda.
Mr Ndou expressed deep appreciation to the organisers of the event and thanked the Depart-ment of Earth Sciences, as well as the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Agriculture (under the leadership of Prof Natasha Potgieter) for showing support and allowing them to take part in the Championship.
The group picture of the participants in the II International Geological Championship
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