PRO-SLO PhD School 2026: Bringing academic knowledge and field experience together at the Kassandra Mines
22.04.26
Understanding the social dimensions of a modern investment cannot remain confined to theory alone. It requires engagement with the field, with people, and with the real-life conditions in which a project’s relationship with society is shaped day by day. This is precisely the connection that the PRO-SLO PhD School 2026 seeks to strengthen, a European educational programme dedicated to the Social License to Operate (SLO) in the raw materials sector. The programme is coordinated by Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria, academically organised by the National Technical University of Athens, and funded by EIT RawMaterials.
The Social License to Operate goes beyond formal permitting. It refers to the relationship of trust, acceptance and ongoing dialogue between a project and society. It is a dynamic process, closely linked to understanding local needs, maintaining transparency and consistency, and building meaningful relationships with stakeholders. For that reason, a true understanding of SLO, and of how it is earned and maintained, becomes possible only when it is grounded in real data, real settings and lived experience.
This year’s onsite part of the programme is taking place in Greece for the first time, from 19 to 24 April, bringing PhD candidates from 14 universities and 19 countries to the Kassandra Mines in NE Halkidiki. Their participation reflects the initiative’s international and interdisciplinary character. Within this academic framework, Hellas Gold is taking part as the programme’s only industrial partner in Greece, contributing its experience and expertise to an educational process that brings academic research closer to the realities of a large-scale project. Its role is to provide a meaningful learning environment in which participants can approach the Social License to Operate not only as a theoretical concept, but as a process shaped in practice through contact with a wide range of stakeholders.
In this way, the Kassandra Mines become a dynamic learning environment, where theory meets field experience and academic inquiry is connected to real processes, relationships and contemporary challenges associated with major projects.
Through this approach, the PRO-SLO PhD School 2026 highlights the importance of collaboration between universities and industry in understanding complex social issues. For Hellas Gold, supporting this initiative is a meaningful contribution to knowledge, education and dialogue around the Social License to Operate — by offering a modern, active learning environment and sharing expertise with the next generation of academic researchers.
