The Saudi Arabia Section (SAS) YP Committee has established several new programs to attract and develop young professionals and to reach out to students to stimulate their interest in career opportunities. The committee formed a new team called The Young Leaders. Its goal is to foster the awareness, skills, and values of leadership among YPs by placing them in close proximity with top leaders.
For student outreach, the committee has introduced two new programs this year, including the Guest Lecturer Program and Lunch & Learn Program. The objective of the Guest Lecturer Program is to enhance college-level classes at both junior and senior levels by inviting experts to the classes. And the objective of the Lunch & Learn Program is to enrich university students’ knowledge of the petroleum industry by creating a friendly, interactive discussion between invited YP speakers and students.
The committee organized a Your Future Career event for the second time this year, promoting various career disciplines to high school students. Also, a new event was organized for the first time called Upstream Career Day. Major service companies operating in the kingdom participated in the program, which was designed in an unconventional way to help college students develop an understanding of the different career paths they can proceed with upon graduation.
The committee organized the first SPE SAS Young Professionals Paper Contest. Winners of the competition were recognized at the 2012 Young Professionals Technical Symposium and then competed in the third SPE GCC paper contest, held in Kuwait in April. To keep up the momentum, this year’s YP and Student Outreach Committee established three more section award categories, including the Student Chapter Outstanding Performance Award, the Outstanding YP Committee Award, and the Young Member Distinguished Service Award.