The SPE Mining University of Leoben Student Chapter has been awarded the Gold Standard designation for 2016 by the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
The Mining University of Leoben Student Chapter has earned the Gold Standard, in recognition of its exceptional programs in industry engagement, operations and planning, community involvement, professional development and innovation.
The event started at 9 o’clock in the morning with a friendly get-together in the entrance hall of the university. After the registration process the welcome speech was held by Prof. Ganzer who gave a few insights into studying in Clausthal. Then a representative of the German SPE Section introduced the organization and highlighted their achievements in recent years and how they are going to proceed in the years following. After the obligatory coffee-break Dr. Meehan gave a very inspiring and encouraging speech that showed that even during these hard times there is a meaningful way to use your time. The highlights of his speech are summarized in the paragraph below.
Right now in the United States of America fewer rigs are operated then in 1860 when Abraham Lincoln was president. Nevertheless downturns are also opportunities for innovation as the downturn of the oil price in 1980 clearly showed. During that time some of the most beneficial systems in our industry were invented, such as horizontal drilling and LWD. Still as a student you need to find different options to be able to overcome the current downturn as good as possible. There are several academic options to consider. One of them is to think about a victory lap at the university. This means to go for several other courses which can be beneficial in the future work life such as project management or a deeper understanding of the supply chain in the oil and gas industry. Another very important point to consider is to broaden the horizon by going into totally different directions then the oil and gas business. It is never bad to have an MBA but only from a top business university such as the London Business School. Also it is now a good time to think about extending your personal studies with a PhD degree. Besides that it is always good to have entrepreneurial skills. Not only if you want to run your own business but also if you want to get hired by a renowned company. And having an up-to-date LinkedIn profile is more than important in our modern world because CVs are so 2013. Finally the overall conclusion is that something that happens in the past does not determine your future and giving up is never an option.
After that a very delicate lunch was served and then the event continued with a tour through the reservoir and the drilling laboratories of the university. The event was concluded by the student chapter presentations and some final advices from the SPE-President Dr. Meehan. The remaining time of the day was used for a tour through the city of Clausthal-Zellerfeld and Goslar and a delicious dinner at a famous Italian restaurant.
Have a look at our photo gallery:
We would like to thank the SPE-Student Chapter Clausthal for their invitation and their hospitality. Especially we would like to thank Rafael Hincapie for accompanying us during our tour through these beautiful German towns and for driving us back to our hostel. It was a real pleasure to be able to participate in this event and we are looking forward to meet our German friends again at future events.
