The topics to be addressed among the abovementioned with the proposed Townhall meeting are:
1. How to transit from academia to industry;
2. Obtaining a professional title: why the industry asks geologists for one;
3. Why the industry demands qualifications, experience and ethics (from professional geologists);
4. Periodical renewal of professional qualifications titles.

Geoscience is an exciting field of practical sciences as it offers a plethora of working possibilities, for most of us outside the academic community. Many young geologists are drawn to study the geology based on the general public perception of geologists being mainly scientists working at universities, museums and research laboratories. This picture represents of course only partially the reality. According to AGI (Status of Recent Geoscience Graduates 2016) 40% of geologists with BSc, 80% of geologists with MSc, and 10% of geologists with PhD are employed by the industry and this fact has to be more clearly advocated among students of geology/geosciences. Hand in hand with this activity it needs to be presented to students and to young geologists that are considering to leave the university to follow a professional career path in industry that this includes stimulating working environments, a perpetual professional, and personal growth, constant challenges and last but not least, good salaries as well as adventure and a variety of tasks inside and outside of the field of geoscience.

With the need of clear proof of the experience a geologist has, and/or the high responsibility towards her/his team of co-workers and contractors when working within the industry, an official certification of professional qualifications, experience and ethics is an advantage for a geologist/geoscientist. Consequentially, obtaining a professional title such as the EFG’s European Geologist that could be acquired by geologists via the peer-review process under the supervision of national (AIPG, GSC) or supra-national associations (EFG) is a crucial step towards easier first time employment or migration to the industry. To achieve the best results this process needs to be facilitated by the industry and by the professional associations that issue and manage professional titles, using various vehicles such as active instruments (i.e. mentoring programs), or passive instruments (i.e. e-tools, workshops, hackathons etc.).