Rio Tinto joins Japan’s Consortium for Education of Resources Engineering

Rio Tinto has joined the Sustainable Resources Engineering Education Consortium, which has been established by the Graduate Schools of Engineering at Hokkaido University and Kyushu University to strengthen and enhance mineral resource development education in Japan.

The consortium is based on the Joint Program for Sustainable Resources Engineering, started in 2015 by the two Graduate Schools of Engineering. In 2017, the two universities established Japan’s first joint resource engineering course (Cooperative Program for Resources Engineering, master’s course), which accepted international students from resource-rich countries, exposed Japanese students to overseas internships, and featured lectures from international academics. Through such activities, the Universities have endeavoured to develop graduates with high expertise and international perspectives. Now, to further enhance and develop the quality of the resource-related graduates of the program, the two Schools will welcome private companies and public institutions as members.

Rio Tinto will participate in the Sustainable Resources Engineering Education Consortium from 1 April 2022.

Representative Director and Rio Tinto Japan President Bill Horie said; “Rio Tinto has developed and produced mineral resources that are indispensable for human progress for over 150 years and has long seen the importance of developing resources-related workforce skills for today and the future. The mining industry and resource-related areas are facing various challenges including environmental issues, and graduates with the knowledge and motivation to tackle such issues are becoming more and more important. When we learned the two Universities leading resource education in Japan were building this consortium, we were very supportive, because developing the right resources skills is vital for the future of the industry. We look forward to working with both universities and other companies in the consortium. ”

The initiator of this consortium, Professor Naoki Hiroyoshi of the Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, said, “We sincerely welcome Rio Tinto, a world leader in the mining and metal industries, to the consortium. With Rio Tinto’s participation, we will be able to better pursue the consortium’s goal of developing sustainable resource-related human resources in Japan. Including Rio Tinto, 17 firms and five public organisations have already decided to join or support the consortium. We continue to call for more supporters to enhance this consortium further”.

Further information on the Sustainable Resources Engineering Education Consortium can be sourced at
– Hokkaido University: www.hokudai.ac.jp/, www.hokudai.ac.jp/news/
– Kyushu University: www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/ja/ , www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/ja/university/publicity/pressrelease/latest/

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About Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and New York Stock Exchange listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Rio Tinto’s business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are iron ore, aluminium, copper, molybdenum, diamonds, gold, industrial minerals (borate, titanium dioxide and salt). Activities span the world and are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe, and southern Africa.

Contact
Media Relations, Japan
Natsuko Nakagawa
M +81 (0)80 7111 8747
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