Why Metallurgical Systems gets involved with the STEM METS Career Pathway Program

Late in 2020, while many of us were still coming to grips with a year dominated by Covid-19, Melanie Stramotas, was invited to complete an internship at Metallurgical Systems as part of the Austmine STEM METS Career Pathway Program. 

Melanie is in her final year of a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering as well as a Masters of Biomedical Engineering at UNSW, and was very excited to accept the internship. She says she has learned a huge amount, improved her technical skills as an engineer, and learnt the importance of thinking outside the box and finding creative solutions to challenges. 

“I was trained in many different aspects and programs, and given the chance to participate in several different projects,” says Melanie. 

“The highlight of my internship was creating a steady state model of a concentrator plant located in Kazakhstan. This process involved designing a simplified model from previous process flow
diagrams, building the model and coding in the process functions, based off mass balances and client specifications.”

“It was very rewarding creating this model from start to finish and knowing
it would be given to a client for use.”

Melanie says she was very supported and encouraged at Metallurgical Systems, and felt she could ask any of the engineers for support if it were needed. 

“Overall, my internship has been an invaluable experience and I am fortunate to have been hired to continue working part time throughout the rest of my university degree,” she says. 

“Austmine was also supportive throughout this process, providing tips and tricks before, during and after the internship to provide us with all the knowledge and tools we needed.”

For Metallurgical Systems, the STEM METS Career Pathway Program offers a fantastic opportunity to support the up-and-coming generation of METS professionals, as well as for their own engineers to mentor and grow their leadership skills. 

“The program is an ideal way for us to give back to the industry and help young engineers, getting them involved in cutting-edge technology and keeping them in the industry when they choose their career path down the track,” says John Vagenas, Managing Director of Metallurgical Systems. 

“It also helps us further build our relationships with universities and to cross the bridge between academia and university,” he adds. 

Metallurgical Systems has recently offered Melanie casual work while she continues to finish her degree, with a view to her joining the business full time next year. 

Find out more about the STEM METS Career Pathway Program here.