Geology master's students go public: Harquail and Sudbury prospector group partner to give students a platform to present projects outside classroom.

• Author: McKinley, Karen
• Position: Mining

Studying for a master's degree can be an isolating endeavour as students work with professors and colleagues to complete projects, rarely presenting their findings to a broader audience.

Now there's an outlet for geology master's students looking to present to the public, connect with professionals, and exchange information.

The Sudbury Prospectors and Developers Association (SPDA) and Laurentian University's Harquail School of Earth Sciences have put together a program allowing students to present their projects beyond the classroom.

Though the program has been in the works for a while, they started having students come to the prospectors' meetings to present their projects in January, according to Blake Mobray, a master's who also serves as a student liaison with the SPDA.

"Students are always encouraged to come to the meetings to listen to talks. It's a great way for them to hear from the older generation and industry insiders about history and information they may not be aware of."

"With these presentations, the older prospectors and industry people can learn about the new terms and lingo, as well as new findings from these students."

All student presentations involve two or three master's projects. Each student designs their own presentation with whatever materials they wish--posters, graphs, even samples--and answer questions in an informal setting just before the meeting begins.

They can also stay after the guest presentation portion of the meeting to speak more about their projects and network.

"We thought, there's about a half-hour of networking and reception time before the meeting starts, so why not allow students to make their presentations during that time?" Mobray said.

It's a great way for students to connect with prospective employers and weigh career options after graduation. It also helps them with their public speaking and communication skills with people of different levels of understanding.

At the meetings, Mobray said that the age gap between current prospectors, geologists, and students is noticeable.

Danielle Shirriff, a geology master's student, was among those who presented on March 19 in Sudbury to talk about her work with Metal Earth, an applied research and development program at Laurentian.

Her project involves nickel and copper sulfides in an area known as the Cubric formation, near the historic Marbridge Mine, near Val d'Or in northwestern Quebec.

Shirriff and a team have spent two summers mapping the area...