The year 2020 was unique and challenging for the world and for many people in multiple sectors, including students. It is well known that most countries have implemented social distancing measures to control the virus; these measures have impacted not only the oil and gas industry, but also many universities and educational centers that have adapted courses and classes to online environments.
Young professionals have been a key factor to keep activities running under virtual environments, demonstrating resilience and adapting to challenging situations. The SPE University of Indonesia Student Chapter has not been an exception. This chapter has been organizing several virtual events to support students, especially around field activities. One of them was a “Virtual Field Trip” organized with experts and professionals from the Middle East in September.
Ardian Nengkoda, member of the JPT Editorial Committee and technical advisor for offshore facilities at Saudi Aramco, led the virtual visit that allowed more than 150 students to be part of this unique opportunity (image above). The trip highlighted several aspects of the Middle East, not only on the technical side such as production technology, infrastructure, and the business landscape, but also shared some aspects of their culture. Indonesian students were able to virtually visit Oman, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Kuwait, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. All the participants were set inside an imaginary helicopter that took them to the field from one country to the other, which the students found to be a lot of fun. On the technical side, the students were challenged into preparing a quick project to showcase ideas on how to improve the current Middle East oil and gas sector. At the end of the session, many students received the opportunity to present their ideas.
“Surprisingly, the session was attended by more than 150 participants, it was a larger number than what we were expecting. The participants who attended the sessions demonstrated incredible enthusiasm and recognized our effort. At the beginning, it seemed like a challenging event, however we ended up with a great experience to our members which, hopefully, will expand their knowledge and encourage them to keep learning despite the limitations that the lockdown is bringing,” said Nicolas Christianto Barnas, president of the chapter.