A two-weeks training on geophysics that took place in Shiraz, Iran, came to an end in May 2017. Three lecturers from Kabul Polytechnic University and 12 mining engineers from the Afghanistan Geological Survey (AGS) participated in the workshop. They returned to Kabul.
The Geological Survey of Finland has already been working with the Afghanistan Geological Survey and organised this seminar, funded by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. In order to support further developing and strengthening cooperation between universities, state institutions and donor operations in the Afghan mining and geology sector, the German programme for Academic Mining Education in Afghanistan (AMEA) supported this training as well.
One of the participating lecturers, Mr Iqbal, commented: "The joint training by the Geological Survey of Finland and the Afghan-German Cooperation was very useful. Some topics, especially airborne geophysics, were new to us. We hope that such scientific cooperation can be extended in the future. This way, Afghan lecturers can gain the necessary knowledge to teach their students according to our country’s actual needs." Mr Fredrik Karell from the Geological Survey of Finland emphasised further: "I believe this workshop is the start of a long and successful relationship between Afghanistan, Iran, Finland, and Germany."
Finnish and Iranian trainers lead all courses. The training mainly focussed on the application of different geophysical methods in mineral exploration. Additionally, topics such as groundwater, hydrogeology as well as building and construction stone assessments were covered. The participants further learned how to combine these methods and how to cooperate between different units and departments. Besides theoretical parts, the training included many sessions on practical modelling and data interpretation. In small groups, the 15 participants had the opportunity to strengthen in-depth knowledge and to network.
The geophysics training is part of the continuous cooperation between the Geological Survey of Finland and the Afghanistan Geological Survey – a partnership that the Afghan-German Cooperation aims to collaborate with. In November 2017, a follow-up field training for Afghan sector experts will take place in Iran, organised by the Geological Survey of Finland.
Funded by the German Federal Foreign Office as part of Afghan-German Cooperation, AMEA is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) through the Ministry of High Education (MoHE) and close collaboration with the Ministry of Mining and Petroleum (MoMP). The programme helps universities to modernise existing study programmes, emphasising on practical training and academic exchange. The objective consists of helping Afghanistan to become less dependent on foreign expertise.
