Five students from the University of Aberdeen have been awarded the first round of engineering scholarships from Petro-Canada, which has put up a purse of £140,000 over four years to fund 20 scholars.
The raison d’etre for the Petro-Canada Emerging Leaders Scholarship Programme is simple – the company recognises the need to foster new talent into the upstream industry.
The first five to secure places are Christopher Maycock, Douglas Borthwick, Maria Farid, Sean McKeown and Joanna Farquharson. Each now receives crucial financial support, mentoring and the opportunity to apply for industry experience through placements at the Canadian company’s Aberdeen office.
Each will receive £1,000 at the beginning of their second year of study, with this figure increasing to £2,000 per scholar for years three, four and five of their degree programme.
“All of these students are gifted, enthusiastic, highly motivated, hardworking students with considerable promise and we are delighted to be able to support them to fulfil their ambitions,” said John Scrimgeour, Petro-Canada’s regional manager for north-west Europe.
“We have chosen five exceptional students from mechanical and chemical engineering disciplines and I am certain, having met with them all, this first stage in the programme is going to be a great success.
“We run a similar scholarship programme in Canada, where we have recruited and retained a number of outstanding students.
“We are continually looking to the future, and attracting young and dynamic personnel is key to our continued growth and success. Indeed, there is a skills shortage in the sector, but over and above that, we want to give talented engineering students a helping hand to achieve their ambitions.
“We are investing heavily in the North Sea but, as an international operator, Petro-Canada can also offer potential global opportunities for career advancement.”
This is the second Canadian company to step up to the plate with a sizeable commitment to students via scholarships, Talisman stealing the march by several years.
Among the contractors, Aberdeen’s John Wood Group has also set up a programme, while AGR committed a year or so ago.
At an informal presentation held at Aberdeen University, the first five selected had the opportunity to meet with John Scrimgeour and one of Petro-Canada’s key asset managers, Julian Serna.
Speaking after the presentation, Maria Farid, who is currently in her second year of chemical engineering (MEng), said: “We are all absolutely delighted to have been chosen to be a part of Petro-Canada’s scholarship programme.
“Opportunities like this don’t come along every day and, in addition to having some additional financial support to help get through our academic studies, we are all excited by the prospect of gaining first-hand experience of what it’s like to work in the industry – especially with a company as reputable as Petro-Canada.
“Engineering has always been my passion and I have worked hard just to get to where I am today – all of us have. This is a huge boost to our career aspirations and it is thanks to the University of Aberdeen’s relationship with industry-leading organisations that really allows us, the students, to capitalise on opportunities to marry the academic theory with industry practice.”
Petro-Canada also contributed £100,000 towards the fundraising campaign to create the new University of Aberdeen library in September this year.