Deja vu
News that the University of Western Australia was launching an Energy and Minerals Institute had The Note doing an about-take.
Haven’t we had one of those before, we thought?
But it seems not. It’s just that in the resources world it’s hard to make anything sound much different.
Fossicking around in our dusty archives – the real ones, not our fancy online version – The Note found a 2006 missive from Peter Lalor, then chairman of the Minerals Institute WA, a body established by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy.
That august body is no longer, with its phone number now taken by the Resources Industry Training Council, a state government funded joint venture between the CME and the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association.
While the Minerals Institute has been consigned to think-tank history, we did see the irony in its one-time policy position that WA’s universities try to be more collaborative and less competitive.
The UWA’s new institute appears to be the opposite of that, with the university flying its very own resources flag on the education ramparts. And it’s all the more poignant because its soon-to-be-launched institute is being run by former CME chief Tim Shanahan (pictured).
And why not? The Note reckons competition is the best way to hone skills in any space, including education.
• See page four for more
