By preparing a course program with the general title “Introduction to Mining,” which uses modern educational tools such as AI, VR or mixing VR and AR (XR), we sought to make the content more attractive and increase interest in these issues. The goal was also to change public attitudes toward mining itself and increase public awareness in this area. We wanted students to become interested in the presented content and increase their level of knowledge in this area. In an era of increasing importance of remote education, it was necessary to implement modern forms of presenting content, as well as verifying the level of student knowledge. Therefore, four forms of the course were placed on the educational platform: a traditional e-book, where you can find extended information on a given topic, interactive VR games, which give you the opportunity to make decisions in virtual reality, film presentations with AI, which are an attractive way of presenting the most important issues, and verification of the effects using existing educational platforms, as well as individually developed forms of testing the knowledge of course participants.
The main objective of the project was to change the attitude of students and teachers towards issues related to mining. In recent years, mining has been primarily associated with coal mining, and only a small portion of the population realizes that without mineral resources, development would not be possible, nor would the production of many devices (such as cell phones) that are now considered basic necessities. Universities offering education in this field are struggling with a very low number of applicants for mining studies, despite the fact that the mining sector still needs new, young, and qualified staff. The project therefore responded to the needs of schools in terms of the number and quality of applicants to both secondary schools and higher education institutions related to mining sciences. The project is international in nature, and we wanted to implement similar solutions in all countries participating in its implementation. Another reason was the fact that distance learning has recently gained popularity, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the use of modern educational solutions increases user interest.