A hard-working group of students has just completed a project for Barminco (one of the world’s largest hard rock underground mining service providers) to produce induction materials to train new Barminco recruits.
- Our screen and media students spent six months during the COVID-19 pandemic putting their animation and software development skills to the test.
- They developed life-like training materials for Barminco employees, using virtual reality (VR).
Barminco’s Inductions and Safety Trainer Melanie Dugay said that the new training materials allow her to more easily explain the mining cycle to new recruits.
“We’re recruiting several new starters each week and some of them have never been on a mine site in their life. It is difficult to explain underground to people – getting them to site can be a challenge and then they are exposed to a place that is very deep and dark,” said Melanie.
“So having training materials that use VR and animation that I can just play and talk through gives our new starters the ability to gain an understanding of how the mining lifecycle works in a safe environment.
“I’ve seen a lot of VR that doesn’t really hit the mark but what these students have pulled together, particularly during COVID-19, is just remarkable.”
22-year old Advanced Diploma of Screen and Media student Tiernan Stevens enjoyed working on the Barminco project and having the pressure of a real client with real requirements and deadlines to meet.
“I made the 3D models for the VR experience and had the tricky job of making sure that all assets were realistic, recognisable and appropriately lit.
“I’ve learnt so much about 2D and 3D art in my three years at TAFE and it’s great to know that my work on this project will be of use to Barminco and its employees now and well into the future.”
Find out more about our Media courses.