Internship in Mining – An Interview with Intern Richard

Glückauf Richard! At which university do you study, what is your degree program and in which semester are you doing your internship? Glückauf! I study Mechanical Engineering with the 1st specialization Processing Machines and the 2nd specialization Extraction and Special Civil Engineering Machines at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. I am currently in the 9th semester of my studies and would like to complete the last part of my mining training at the Zielitz site at the end of my internship. I am doing the internship in the Shafts department over a period of 6 weeks. For my mining training I already did an internship at the Bernburg site in 2018 and subsequently in 2019 at the Wintershall site my specialized internship as part of my mechanical engineering studies. Mining Training In the mining training you learn mining skills to be prepared for further studies or the profession. The training comprises 120 shifts and is divided into a basic training and an advanced training. How did you come to choose a degree program in mechanical engineering? At the end of 11th grade I had planned to study mining. After a long conversation with my father I decided however for the mechanical engineering degree program. During the 1st year of studies my interest in a parallel training as a mining trainee was aroused by an event of the State Mining Authority Saxony. Since that time I have been active in mining almost every year. Was there a reason why you chose an internship at K+S and what expectations did you have? K+S operates large mines in Germany and thus covers a broad field of tasks. Moreover, K+S is also represented in spatial proximity to my home. I specifically indicated the Shafts department as my preferred department to gain new insights into the conveying technology used. Furthermore, I had to complete a test mine ride with the mining authority as part of my mining training. I also hoped for and received support for this. Can you briefly describe what your daily routine looks like? In the Shafts department shift starts at 5 a.m. Then follows a meeting with the foremen. At the beginning of the internship I accompanied individual colleagues in their activities. At the moment I am working on a project and sit in the office analyzing data, or I am in the plant collecting measurement data. If you had to describe your internship in one sentence, what would it be? My internship is exciting, varied and definitely challenging due to the project reference. Do you have a few final tips for future interns? Helpful are clear ideas of what you want to see or what you want to learn. The more precisely you know that, the more exciting the internship becomes. Thank you, Richard, for your time. We wish you all the best and much success for your internship and your professional career.