The Young Professional Coordinating Committee (YPCC) is a 15-member standing committee responsible for governing programs and activities directed toward YPs. The committee reports to the SPE Board Committee on Education and Professional Activities. YPCC members are appointed by the SPE president-elect and serve 1-year terms, renewable for up to 3 years. Terms begin at SPE’s Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE).
YPCC aims to help SPE YP groups in organizing activities that are effective for SPE young professional members. YPCC reviews each Section’s annual report to summarize “best practices” for SPE YP groups. A detailed presentation pack summarizing the best practices is available at the YP Network (YPN) website (http://connect.spe.org/). The list includes the following:
- Publicize your upcoming Section YP activities using the membership roster available from your SPE Section officers.
- Collaborate with other professional organizations (e.g., AAPG) and other SPE Sections’ YP committees.
- Engage “seasoned” professionals as well as students.
- Network, participate, and assist with a wide range of Section members and events.
- Nominate your peers for SPE International and Regional Awards.
- Poll your membership to find out what they want.
- Hold sporting or other types of events and donate the funds you raise to a local charity.
- Combine technical events with social events.
YPCC and SPE’s Student Development Committee (SDC) are piloting a revamp of the Ambassador Lecture (AL) program. The aim is to increase the number of ALs and improve reporting about these events to all SPE members. To help increase the number of ALs, members of YPCC and SDC plan to connect with other SPE YP groups as well as SPE student chapters. If you have not already organized an AL and need guidance, contact YPCC via the YPN website or contact alp@spe.org.
A webcast of an AL is also being planned. It will be recorded and shared on the SPE video library. This will be a useful resource for Section YP committees to prepare for an AL.
YPCC is also planning to organize a YP workshop at SPE’s 2014 ATCE, scheduled to be held in October in Amsterdam. The workshop would be an interactive event that allows for an engagement session with the speakers and group discussions. YPCC is also collaborating with SPE’s Soft Skills Council to organize a soft skills workshop at ATCE. Look for details on the YPN and ATCE websites.
Finally, a number of SPE YPs were fortunate enough to represent SPE at the sixth annual Emerging Leaders Alliance (ELA) Program in Reston, Virginia, USA, in 2013. The program provided high-quality leadership training to attendees.
Many ELA conference sessions from 2010 to 2013 were recorded on video and can be found here: http://www.spe.org/media/members/emerging-leaders-alliance.php.
Topics covered in the 2013 video sessions include “Emotional Intelligence,” “Presenting With Impact,” and “Being a Great Leader.”
The seventh annual ELA program will be held 10–12 November this year in Reston, Virginia. For further information, please visit http://www.emergingleadersalliance.org.