Run by Core, the Geoscientist to Data Scientist program brought together foundation collaborators Roy Hill, Rio Tinto and ATCO Australia with education partners CSIRO, Curtin University and the University of Western Australia at the Core Innovation Hub in Perth.
A data science skills deficit is a significant capability gap for many miners and limits their abilities to capitalise on digital disruption opportunities.
What is worse, the deficit cannot be reduced through recruitment alone.
There are just not enough data science graduates and there are even fewer with the crossover geoscience skills.
Hence the Core skills development. It is delivered in two formats: a one-day Leading Data Scientists executive program and a 15-day Data Science Springboard professionals program.
The pilot ran from September 4 to December 4.
One graduate said outputs from the program included clean data, fresh insights, cross business unit collaboration, incremental innovation and a lot of value that could be captured for the organisation.
Core skills catalyst and pilot lead Dr Sophie Hancock said the program had created a pathway of what a successful data science transition for a business could look like.
"Distributed data science skills at the coal face, in the hands of domain specialists who are motivated and led by enabling executives, including professionals from support functions across mining, energy and technology, are turning disruptive forces into competitive advantage for the Core skills alumni," she said.
Rio Tinto Iron Ore .chief executive Chris Salisbury said the pilot was a great example of how the industry could pioneer innovative learning solutions in collaborative environments to provide people with the opportunity to grow and develop in their roles.
"Our industry is rapidly changing and with development of our most technologically advanced mine Koodaideri on the horizon, it's critically important we use data science to extract intelligence and insights to help drive our business to greater success," he said.
"The success of this pilot could now provide the foundations for a new model for upskilling our people with the future skills needs of the industry."
