A team from the Institute of Mineral Resources Engineering at RWTH Aachen University secured second place in the Reimagine Education Awards.
The Wharton School and QS Quacquarelli Symonds – publishers of the World University Rankings – recognized the most innovative and effective approaches to teaching and learning in 2022 with the Reimagine Education Awards. A team from the RWTH Institute of Mineral Resources Engineering took second place in the Immersive Experiential Learning category for its VR Mine project. The competition for the awards lasted eight months and attracted around 1,200 entries from 77 different countries.
The Reimagine Education Awards are considered the Oscars of the education sector and are presented in 18 categories and 7 regions, with bronze, silver, and gold places awarded. They are aimed at educational companies, universities, schools, and non-profit educational institutions worldwide, and thus provide a platform for the global university community to identify and recognize outstanding educational innovations. With over 500 international judges and a 25-member grand jury, the winners receive the unequivocal recognition of education experts from around the world.
In the VR Mine project, the team developed an informative, interactive virtual reality environment that simulates various underground mining situations. The program is to be offered throughout Europe in master’s degree programs in mining-related fields. VR Mine was created at the Institute in 2017 and was subsequently further developed in cooperation with the Mittersill Mine in Austria, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, and the Cybernatics Lab IMA & IfU at RWTH. The program will see its initial teaching application in the M. Sc. European Mining Course (EMC) at RWTH, while Montanuniversität in Austria has already acquired a license for the VR Mine.
