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24-06-2018

Times of Oman

Muscat: The Department of Applied Geosciences (AGEO) at the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech), recently conducted a two week excursion to Germany with a group of 12 students, their professor and an assistant.

The study-trip is part of the AGEO curricula, with its main goal being to learn more about the geology of Germany and the development of the region between the cities of Aachen and Cologne.

“The students had to familiarise themselves with different aspects of applied geology, such as the development of natural resources or the usage of ground- and sub-surface water in the lower Rhine district. With a focus on the presentation of thermal springs, coal and base metal deposits, as well as volcanic rocks, we gave the students an overview of geological topics that cannot be presented here in Oman,” said Prof. Dr. Wilfried Bauer, who headed the trip.

In the second part of the trip, students learned more about the socio-economic development of the region, which developed from an industrial area based on lignite and coal mining, to a more diversified economy today.

“The group visited the geological garden and mining museum in Bochum in the heart of the former mining district along the Ruhr river. “Although coal mining will cease at the end of this year, the production of steel and other metals will continue, with cheaper imported energy resources, since the skills and know-how is still there.” said Prof. Dr. Bauer, who has specialized in the mining sector.

The students visited different cities, including Cologne, Bochum, Xanten, Aachen and Spa (Belgium).

At GUtech’s partner-university, RWTH Aachen University, they were welcomed by the international office and learned about Master and PhD programmes, and had the opportunity to attend a lecture in the MSc programme in Applied Geosciences.

In recent years, several GUtech students have conducted their research for a Bachelor project at RWTH Aachen or pursued their MSc studies in the Geosciences department.

“We continuously need to maintain our excellent links to universities in Germany and other European countries. This collaboration and cooperation is the best way to link our young Omani graduates with the international research community,” said Prof. Bauer.