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Christopher Keane Leila Gonzales 1 September 2010

Comparing “Geosciences” Across Borders and Cultures – How Seamless can the Geosciences Move Globally. Christopher Keane Leila Gonzales 1 September 2010. IUGS Taskforce on Global Geoscience Workforce. Born from session at the IGC33 in Oslo, Norway in 2008 Focus on 3 primary questions:

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Christopher Keane Leila Gonzales 1 September 2010

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  1. Comparing “Geosciences” Across Borders and Cultures – How Seamless can the Geosciences Move Globally Christopher Keane Leila Gonzales 1 September 2010

  2. IUGS Taskforce on Global Geoscience Workforce • Born from session at the IGC33 in Oslo, Norway in 2008 • Focus on 3 primary questions: • Defining the Geosciences • Measuring the Producers and Consumers of Geoscientists • Strategies for Capacity Building • Membership is OPEN. • Communications is by email, wiki, and skype. • Currently working on the first 2 questions.

  3. The Parochial Question • Developed nations face “The Great Crew Change” • Likely permanent drop in economic activity • Developing nations face: • “Brain-drain” which inhibits building competencies • Divorced priorities from needs from central planning • Produce petroleum geologists when you need seismologists and geomorphologists • Central government reduces investment in geoscience

  4. Geoscience Academic Units by Country

  5. What is a Geoscientist? • US Federal Government Definition • Strict discipline and work duty boundaries • Resource intensive countries • Trend towards less inclusive (exclude soils, geography, etc.) • Less resource-dependent countries • Broader view, especially for surface process areas

  6. What about an Earth Systems Scientist? • An excellent construct for geoscience education • A fine construct for the discipline to operate • Increasing interdisciplinary research • A model for communicating with the public • But when talking about the grain-size of people… Earth Systems Science occurs in teams. Each team member adds a bit to the whole.

  7. Impact of Definitions • US Federal Definition of Geoscientist: • Excludes managers, regardless of tasks • Relies on employer titles • Therefore US Government thinks there are only 5000 geoscientists in the US Petroleum industry (there are about 80,000). • Degrees in China are not necessarily awarded per discipline, so titles can be ambiguous • External estimates of 400,000 Chinese geoscientists appear to be off by a factor of 10.

  8. What is a Nationality in the Geosciences? The ‘countable’ nationality of a geoscientist is a challenge. What nationality is a: • Foreign-national educated and then employed locally? • Foreign national educated and then employed by a local company to work in their home/third country? • A geoscientist who works as a journeyman across projects around the world – major resource/consulting companies

  9. Where are geoscientists? • United States: 250,000 geoscientists • Europe: 140,000 geoscientists • China: 40,000 geoscientists • Canada: 20,000 geoscientists • Africa: ~10,000 geoscientists • South America: Unknown • Middle East: Unknown • Iraq: 5,000 • India: Unknown

  10. Where are the new geoscientists coming from? • United States • 6,500 total new graduates • Europe: • 8,000 total new graduates (50% in Russia) • Africa: • 1,000 total (about 400 p.a. in South Africa)

  11. Who can afford to export talent? • Demand is outstripping supply in: • China • Europe (in aggregate) • United States (but looks to be narrowing) • Exporting talent • China, ex-pat students not returning • Australia, educate many foreign students who leave • Africa, top talent seeking better pay

  12. Licensure and Legal Issues • Geoscientists often “work in/out of the cold” • Nowhere do you HAVE to be licensed • Many places place limits if you are not • Examples? • “European Geologist” (Europe) • “Certified Professional Geologist” (USA) • Licensed geologist (Various US States) • “Registered Geologist/Hydrologist” (Various Countries)

  13. Licensure and Legal Issues, cont. • Why? • Enables free multinational movement to practice (Europe) • Enables legal authority (some U.S. States) • Allows legal interaction with stock exchanges • What does it guarantee? • Fundamental competencies in geoscience • Understanding of ethical and social responsibility

  14. Acknowledgements • Moutaz Al-Dabbas, Geological Society of Iraq (Iraq) • TanviArora, NGRI (India) • Jay Barton, (South Africa) • Peter Pangman, Society of Exploration Geophysicists (USA) • Sarah Gaines, UNESCO (France) • OchirGerel, Mongolian University of Science & Technology (Mongolia) • AlirezaGharagozlou, NGDIR (Iran) • Leila M. Gonzales, American Geological Institute (USA) • Christopher M. Keane, American Geological Institute (USA) • Michael G. Loudin, ExxonMobil (USA) • Michael Leggo, (Australia) • Edmund Nickless, The Geological Society of London (UK) • EikichiTsukuda, Geological Survey of Japan, AIST (Japan) • Jacques Varet, BRGM (France) • Andrew Waltho, Rio Tinto (Australia) • Xiaoping Yang, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China) And the entire YES Network

  15. We Want You! • The taskforce is engaging all interested individuals who are willing to: • Communicate about the nature of the geosciences in their nation • Willing to discuss these issues domestically • Willing to do a little research on who/what/where of the geosciences in their nation. • Willing to review documents/skype sessions regarding global geoscience workforce Interested – talk to me! (keane@agiweb.org)

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