On 19 November, more than 50 students from 19 different countries and 11 educational institutions descended on the city of Doha, the capital of Qatar. These energetic and highly motivated individuals had been selected to represent their peers at the Middle East’s first YEPP-led IPTC Student Education Day held in conjunction with the SPE International Petroleum Technology Conference. The event was designed to introduce these aspiring future engineers to what the oil and gas industry is like and also to show how to proceed in making that first step out of higher education and into the realm of the “real world,” all from the point of view of a young professional.
The students were guided by the Middle East YEPP Council, including Tony Thomas, Schlumberger; Ali Al-Muftah, Bapco; Hani Al-Khalifa, Saudi Aramco; Nael Sadek, Lufkin; Rana Rassipour, Canadian Nexen; and Razik Shaikh, Dubai Petroleum Co. The YEPPs gave presentations on team building and interview skills before the students put these newly acquired skills to work in real-life exercises. The theme was “Our industry 5 years from now and what role will students play in shaping it.” Feedback from both the students and the companies has been positive, and the Middle East YEPP Council hopes that this will be the first of many such events.
Middle East Council member Nael Sadek (standing) with students during the Education Day ice-breaker event.