BHP John Monash Scholarship recipient, Nicholas Maurer, recently attended the World Mining Congress (WMC) in Brisbane, Australia where more than 3000 delegates, including representatives from BHP, gathered from 58 countries to discuss the future of global mining.

Under the congress theme of resourcing for tomorrow, creating value for society, Nicholas said it was valuable hearing from industry leaders on a variety of topics including the challenge to reduce operational greenhouse emissions and the critical minerals required to support the global energy transition.

"While at the congress I managed to attend several presentations including the plenary keynote by CEO Mike Henry as well as the decarbonisation technical keynote panel led by BHP team members - Anna Wiley, Dr Burkhard Seifert, and Tim Richards.

"I enjoyed the frank but productive focus on the challenges of reaching net-zero in both the mining sector and society more broadly. Having a set of experts, from academia and industry, assembled in one room to share ideas was thought provoking. I walked away with some ideas that will likely impact my future studies."

Through his studies, Nicholas has focussed on future decarbonised energy systems, and has published an award-winning paper on this topic. He believes that attending industry events such as the WMC contributes to becoming a successful and well-rounded academic. 

"Students need to be exposed to both new ideas and people. Ideas can easily be accessed online, but having the people who represent those ideas all in the same room is invaluable. Through conversation, presentation, and overall atmosphere, you get a sense for the challenges facing the industry. For a student, grasping both types are a critical part of a good education."

Late last year Nicholas was identified as an outstanding Australian leader and received a BHP John Monash Scholarship, graduating with a Bachelor Degree in Engineering and Physics, receiving first-class honours and a University Medal for his studied at The University of Queensland.

He will soon relocate to the United States where he intends to study a PhD in Engineering at Princeton University.

"The BHP John Monash Scholarship enables me to go to one of the best universities in the world for this field. Something that would otherwise be impossible. The support of BHP, a company that is focussed on the challenges associated with the global energy transition, is an ideal example of the collaboration required between academics, industry, and government to solve these important challenges."

John Monash Scholarships are postgraduate scholarships awarded to outstanding Australians with leadership potential who wish to study overseas.

To date, the General Sir John Monash Foundation have awarded 248 scholarships to Australian citizens who have gone on to study in the fields of health and medicine, engineering, science, fine arts, education, law, political theory, business, entrepreneurship and much more. 

BHP has proudly partnered with the General Sir John Monash Foundation since 2012, supporting postgraduate scholarships for outstanding Australians, many of whom have furthered their studies in fields that matter to us, like STEM, Indigenous affairs, and sustainability.

Our decade-long partnership has enabled the postgraduate research of 12 bright Australians, whose leadership, talent, and vision will have an enduring impact on our future.