Ours is an exceptional industry, one that is transforming by leaps and bounds in view of socioeconomic and environmental considerations. Slated to become the engineers at the forefront of this paradigm shift, we’ll be responsible for continuing to secure the global energy supply while ensuring we’re part of long-term sustainability efforts. It’s now more than ever that we require the unconditional support of our industry in guiding us through these times of rapid change.

We maintain the stance that continuous exposure to the industry during one’s education is the key to producing evolved engineers equipped for tackling the evolving problems of the future. It’s to this end that we’ll continue cooperating with companies regionally and globally in intensifying efforts to provide opportunities to our students for jobs, internships, and informative programs in the form of technical talks and lectures. It’s our goal to make sure industry presence is felt more strongly than ever and to transcend boundaries between the different stages of a Petroleum Engineer’s educational and professional career.

This initiative seeks to pull out all stops in developing as diverse a platform as resources permit for our students and those of associated chapters. This platform would encompass across-the-board events that would raise awareness of and encourage engagement in the dissemination of knowledge, from technical conferences to paper contents, both in-house and interinstitutional.

There’re many non-technical benefits to be accrued from active involvement in such functions, which are often objects of considerable industry interest. Participation and profession are flip sides of the same coin, as the events are gateways to expanding one’s network and coming into contact with representatives that seldom fails to open doors of opportunity. It’s for these reasons that we want to include as many events into our repertoire and encourage our students to become involved, starting with our flagship SCOPE conference.

Furthermore, we’re setting a high value on holding in-house workshops, training courses (on subjects ranging from CV-writing to Data Sciences), and internal technical sessions.

We firmly believe that SPE carries the potential for being something more than a mere organization and all the bureaucratic features it entails. Rather, it’s a community; one that fosters a sense of belonging amongst its constituents, conjoined in shared goals and a common purpose. The relationships forged between the students hold value beyond an academic scope, particularly when done so towards bringing Chapter projects to life.

In cultivating communal inclusion and rapport, we want to pepper the students’ schedule with plenty of opportunities to wind down and blow off steam through socially stimulating events and meets, ranging from the famous annual BBQ to bowling nights and commemorative parties. Injecting a healthy dose of socializing into the educational experience, especially for the younger students, is crucial in maintaining a balanced approach to university life.

Along with increasing social awareness brought about by globalized connectivity come hurdles endemic to our industry. A facet of the modern Petroleum Engineer that’s of growing importance is the ability to communicate with society at large in a way that facilitates understanding and places an approachable face onto our profession. Openness and soft skills are of the essence. It is becoming our duty as future engineers to establish a dialogue with non-specialists and address issues in a way that dispels misapprehensions and misconceptions about our industry and its role in the world.

Part of this includes volunteering efforts as well as giving lectures for entry-level students at local schools through technical presentations, extensive discussions, and various case examples on what Petroleum Engineering is, its importance, and the role of engineers. The HSE aspects of our field are at the heart of the matter.