Future environmental protection engineers from Metinvest Polytechnic University spent a week researching their field of study at Metinvest Group's Pivdenny GOK. Practical knowledge was improved at the enterprise, which annually and fully implements the Kryvyi Rih City Environmental Programme, implements environmental measures, uses green technologies and introduces new methods in its work.
The field session at the production site in Kryvyi Rih allowed the students to gain practical experience and expert knowledge. In addition, by studying technologies and processes, they once again became convinced of their choice and emphasised the importance of environmental work at industrial enterprises.
"Northern GOK welcomed Metinvest Polytechnic students studying environmental protection technologies. We saw their interest and great potential for acquiring new knowledge. For future specialists, seeing how the theory looks in practice is both visual and valuable. They visited the overburden dumps and saw the process of preparing the rock mass for extraction in the Pershotravnevyi quarry. Accompanied by leading experts, they visited the tailings storage facilities and a special production environmental laboratory. They learned about the structure of a large iron ore enrichment works and the functions of the environmental protection department. I am confident that this experience will motivate the students and they will soon become part of the environmental team at Metinvest's enterprises," said Oleksiiy STEPANENKO, Head of the Environmental Protection Department at Northern GOK.
Masterclasses, laboratory work and excursions to the production areas of Northern GOK became key elements of the training programme. Together with the work's representatives, the students studied every aspect of the full cycle of raw material preparation, exploring sources of environmental impact and mitigation measures. In particular, attention was paid to waste monitoring and management.
"The study of environmental protection technologies is of great importance for the development of environmental awareness and responsibility, as well as practical skills in the younger generation. Such measures help to train future specialists focused on the country's green recovery and the implementation of best production practices. Practical cases provide students with an understanding of the current environmental situation in the impacted areas and the ability to find appropriate environmental protection innovative solutions," said Nataliia MAKSYMOVA, the head of the educational programme at Metinvest Polytechnic.
In the laboratory workshops, the students gained the ability to analyse the quality of wastewater and the content of suspended solids in discharges, which provides them with specific tools for their future professional activities.
Nataliia Volodchenkova, Head of the HSE Department at Metinvest Polytechnic, also stressed the importance of the practical component of training. She noted that it not only helps to deepen knowledge but also develops the necessary skills for future environmental protection engineers and technogenic and environmental safety engineers.
"Practising all the necessary analyses is a basic prerequisite for becoming a specialist in the future. The students studied the theoretical foundations during lectures, and our students have the opportunity to try it out for themselves during offline sessions at Metinvest's production sites," commented Nataliia VOLODCHENKOVA.
The students noted the high level of the offline session organisation and thanked the Northern GOK's specialists for their extremely important joint work. The future environmental specialists expressed confidence that this experience will become a solid foundation for their further career growth, search for new technologies and approaches to environmental protection, and contribution to solving environmental issues, which is important, including during the restoration of Ukraine.
