Jacek Konefał, a student at the Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining, and Geology, secured second place in the Student Mining Knowledge Tournament. This event, organized for the 19th time, is part of the Krakow School of Underground Mining.

Jacek Konefał, a student at the Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining, and Geology, secured second place in the Student Mining Knowledge Tournament. This event, organized for the 19th time, is part of the Krakow School of Underground Mining.

Participants in this demanding competition faced a test consisting of 40 questions. Our university was represented by three students from the Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining, and Geology (majoring in Mining and Geology): Jacek Konefał, Kacper Miąso, and Wojciech Nowak.

They prepared for the competition under the supervision of Dr. Eng. Karolina Adach-Pawelus, Vice-Dean for Education, who specializes in underground mining and has been selecting participants from Wrocław University of Science and Technology for the past three years.

Among the representatives from Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Jacek Konefał performed the best in the competition against students from Polish universities offering mining programs. After a tiebreaker, he ultimately secured second place.

"I prepared for the competition for about a month, and it certainly helped that I had recently studied for my engineering thesis defense," said Jacek Konefał. "The support and assistance from Dr. Karolina Adach-Pawelus also had a significant impact on my success," he added.

Our laureate completed his studies in Mining and Geology, specializing in underground and open-pit mining. He prepared his diploma thesis, "Energy Expenditure at Selected Positions in the Kwarc Granite Mine in Kostrzy," under the supervision of Dr. Eng. Żaklina Konopacka from W6. Starting in March, he will begin his master's studies, also in Mining and Geology.

"I must admit that the level of the competition was really high. Some of the questions were very detailed and required very up-to-date knowledge. Congratulations to my colleagues from the Silesian University of Technology, who also made it to the podium," added Jacek Konefał.

The competition questions mainly concerned issues related to reports on the state of Polish underground mining, geological and mining law (including executive acts to the law), and topics discussed in specific publications on the exploitation of copper ore deposits under conditions of rock bursts and collapses, as well as principles and practices of underground coal mining. There were also questions related to coal extraction worldwide.

The jury was chaired by Dr. Eng. Jacek Korski from the KOMAG Institute of Mining Technology in Gliwice and Dr. hab. Eng. Jacek Sobczyk from the Institute of Mineral and Energy Economy of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Not Just Mining

Jacek Konefał plans to pursue a career in underground mining. "That's why I knew right away that I wanted to continue my studies at Wrocław University of Science and Technology, specifically at W6, which I consider the best faculty in Poland," explained the student.

Besides his passion for mining, Jacek Konefał is also deeply interested in sports. "I play football in the B-class team Znicz Kruszyn, and in my free time from football and studies, I most enjoy spending time with friends."