"Initially, the ministry is committed to awarding full scholarships to up to 15 master's students in various disciplines, including Advanced Mineral Resource Development, geosciences, mechanical and process engineering, metallic materials technology and sustainable mining," it reads in a statement sent to Lusa.
The agreement provides, however, that after selection in a "transparent and rigorous process", students "will have to meet the university's admission criteria before fully qualifying for the scholarship".
The partnership now announced - by Energy Capital & Power, which organizes the Angola Oil & Gas forum - between the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas of Angola and the University of Mines and Technology of Freiberg in Saxony, Germany, comes after the signing of a Memorandum in October 2022 between the minister responsible for these areas, Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, and the Rector of the University of Mines and Technology of Freiberg, Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht, and a working visit to the university, already this year .
In addition to "academic and research offerings, the university is located in a highly industrialized part of the German state of Saxony, which allows it to develop strong collaborations with many high-tech companies, such as Infineon Technologies", the statement also reads.
This proximity to companies, he says, "allows students to get involved in real-life projects from an early age and, ultimately, it is expected that this will also lead to a significant transfer of technology to Angola's mining sector through of students who will be able to benefit from the scholarship program starting in September 2024".
Freiberg University of Mining and Technology is one of the best universities in the world, specializing in mining, geosciences and related specialties. It was ranked 5th in Europe in the 2022 QS World University Ranking by discipline (category "Mineral and Mining Engineering"), according to the Executive.
The mining sector is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, the statement reads, pointing out that "the global demand for multiple minerals and rare earths is expected to grow in line with the growing demand for minerals for batteries and other strategic minerals", changing the predominance of diamonds as the main mining export, representing 90 percent of the total.
"As the world continues to strive for the transition, battery minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, manganese, aluminum, tin and tantalum, among others, are expected to others, grow exponentially", he highlights.
