The Proceedings of EUROCK 2010 is a collection of 6 keynotes and 193 technical papers accepted by the symposium. As an annual European regional event of the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM), EUROCK has been a major exchange and discussion platform for the international rock mechanics community. Rock mechanics in Europe has been undergoing some major transformation during the last two decades. The reduction of mining activities in Europe affects heavily on rock mechanics teaching and research at universities and institutes. At the same time, new merging activities, notably, underground infrastructure construction, geothermal energy development, radioactive waste and CO2 repository, and natural hazard management, are creating new opportunities of research and engineering. Rock mechanics today is closely associated with, and indeed part of, construction, energy, and environmental engineering.

Our experience as teachers indicates that a traditional format where the instructor provides students with theoretical knowledge through a series of lectures and abstract textbook problems is not sufficient to prepare students to tackle real geotechnical challenges. There is a disjunct between what students are taught in universities and what they are expected to do as engineers. Although students may easily derive complex equations in class, they often struggle when faced with practical engineering problems in the workplace. It is thus not surprising that a project-based approach to learning, which partially simulates what engineers do in real life, has proved to be a valid alternative to the traditional method (Gratchev and Jeng, 2018; Gratchev et al., 2018). Project-based learning not only provides students with opportunities to better understand the fundamentals of geotechnical engineering, but it also allows them to gain more practical experience and learn how to apply theory to practice.  In addition, working on a practical project makes the learning process more relevant and engaging. <...>

An essential step in a site characterisation program is the development of a geological model

that captures the geological complexity of the site. This geological site descriptive model is then used as the

basis for developing the ground engineering model which forms the basis for design. Advances in technology

have led to new methods for conducting site investigation and for building the geological site descriptive model.

Examples are provided that highlight the development of a geological site descriptive model and the impact of

the geological complexity on the ground engineering model. <...>

The term Rock Minerals is sufficiently indefinite to permit of considerable latitude in the choice of minerals to be included by it. Besides those that constitute the mass of any rock there are the less abundant though common kinds, as well as occasional, exceptional, ones. In any case the mineral may be an original constituent of the rock or one that has been developed in it subsequent to its formation. Rock Minerals, therefore, embrace not only all primary minerals, but all those of secondary origin produced by any manner of alteration of previously existing minerals.