Professor Aziz said this year’s intake of first year enrolments stands at 30.

“Part of this increase is due to the current boom in mining activity in Australia, but we also believe part is related to the high reputation our university has for undergraduate teaching," he said.

A number of Wollongong students recently visited the BHP Billiton Appin Colliery surface operations and inspected the newly assembled mini longwall set up for training.

The visiting group was lectured on the technology and operational aspects of longwall mining by both Bob Gordon, the longwall operations manager, and Bill Short, the longwall mechanical engineer at Appin Colliery.

“This was a great example of the continuing support the students can expect from the local mining industry," Aziz said.

He also noted that several local mining, servicing and consulting companies continued to support the students by providing a number of scholarships, as well as the opportunity of both professional training during summer vacation and engagement of the students with various industry-based thesis projects.

The University of Wollongong in turn is enhancing the students' interest in mining from the early days of their university life by encouraging regular engagement of new students with senior students and the industry as a whole.

A common room has been provided for the mining students to gather regularly and discuss different issues of interest, including the early involvement of the students in professional bodies such as the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM).

Various in-house websites on both longwall mining and coal and gas outbursts , funded by the Australian Coal Association Research Program, have helped students gain a better understanding of the issues related to mining from the early stages of the course.

The University of Wollongong has also established a number of honorary positions for well-known and experienced industry professionals to provide specialist training in both teaching and research in mining.

Currently both Dr Ross Seedsman, of Seedsman Geotechnics of Wollongong and Ray Tolhurst, specialist on mineral beneficiation, are appointed as honorary fellows and are actively engaged in teaching and research at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

“Our next big effort will be supporting COAL2006, the seventh in the series of the annual Coal Operators’ Conference, which returns to its home in Wollongong in June this year,” Aziz said.

Details of the conference program, which has over 40 papers covering all aspects of coal mining, are available at .