DEVELOPING NEW EXPLORATION GEOLOGISTS IN SURINAME, SOUTH AMERICA

Exploration programs in emerging countries provide the opportunity to develop both students from the local university and from US. To graduate with the equivalent to a bachelor's degree, students from Suriname are required to complete a period of practical training and a thesis. A company may support both, and for a period of 3 to 6 months, they can be employed by the company. Selection of a thesis topic is the an opportunity to develop independent research and interpretation skills. Students from the technical school (NATIN) also must complete practical training in their third year as well as a project in their fourth year. For both groups, field and descriptive skills are not well developed, and projects to emphasize field skills and promote an understanding of geologic processes and interpretation of data are encouraged. The educational system relies on examination and does not promote critical and interpretive thinking.

Over the last five years, several students from the US have been offered summer internships in Suriname. These students develop an understanding of exploration, experience the culture of an ethically diverse society, and learn field and exploration skills. One student is currently working on a thesis. The interaction between local and US students is an opportunity for both groups of students to learn from each other. This year, a faculty member from the University of North Carolina presented two sessions of field training in structural geology. Students from the local university as well as local and overseas geologists working for the company attended. Students from Suriname are eager to learn and stated they learned more in a week than in an entire course.

Suriname is a small country of less than 500,000 people, so the pool of geologists is small. Library and lab resources are limited. Some students complete a MS degree overseas, most in Netherlands or Belgium where costs are lower, there are family ties, and Dutch is spoken. Typically, each year a student attends graduate school in US through a government scholarship. They often do not return to Suriname.

It is important for geologists to pass on their love and experience in mineral exploration to students from both developing countries and US. In addition, we learn from both groups of young geologists.