An eventful year for Curtin University Sarawak SPE Student chapter

Miri – 18 December 2014 – The Curtin University Sarawak Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Student Chapter has had a productive year organising various events on and off campus for its members.

SPE is the largest individual-member organisation serving managers, engineers, scientists and other professionals worldwide in the upstream segment of the oil and gas industry. Its student chapter, which are university-based groups of SPE student members, is represented by over 300 chapters worldwide.

Being the first to be established in East Malaysia and one of only four SPE student chapters in the country, the Curtin University Sarawak SPE Student Chapter currently has over 200 members.

It serves to provide its members industry exposure and networking opportunities through a variety of activities such as talks, workshops, conferences, competitions, industrial site visits, charity and sporting events and other relevant activities.

Since its establishment in March 2013, the student chapter has organised events such as the inaugural Curtin Engineering Symposium in May 2013, as well as the week-long Petroleum Week events in September 2013 that provided opportunities for students from various engineering disciplines to interact with, and learn from, industry professionals from major oil and gas companies in the country.

In October this year, the Petroleum Engineering Week themed ‘Stepping into the Future’ attracted over 200 participants. The event was sponsored by Sarawak Shell Berhad and K Frontiers.

In conjunction with the Petroleum Engineering Week, the student chapter also organised the Petroleum Engineering Internship Fair 2014 in collaboration with Curtin Sarawak’s Faculty of Engineering and Science to provide an opportunity for its members to meet oil and gas industry representatives and find out more about career opportunities in the industry.

In June this year, the SPE awarded the Curtin University Sarawak SPE Student Chapter its Gold Standard Student Chapter 2014 Award. The student chapter is among 19 from the Netherlands, Germany, Scotland, United States, Mexico, Brazil, Pakistan, India, Nigeria, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia to be recognised with the award.

According to Associate Professor Sharul Sham Dol, who heads the Faculty of Engineering and Science’s Department of Petroleum Engineering, the events organised by the student chapter have been successful in helping Curtin Sarawak’s students connect with the oil and gas industry and he hopes more similar events can be organised annually.

With the number of SPE chapters worldwide, it is easy for student members to network with industry professionals and possible employers. They can also benefit from technology discussions and meet practicing professionals at SPE meetings and events; receive society sponsored scholarships, receive discounts on textbooks, reference books, and other society publications; and participate in various SPE programmes, online communities and paper contests.

The Curtin University Sarawak SPE Student Chapter can be contacted through its official e-mail at cusmstudents@spemail.org. One can also visit its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/specurtinswk.

For more information on Curtin Sarawak, visit its website at www.curtin.edu.my, its Facebook page at facebook.com/CurtinUniversitySarawakMalaysia, Twitter profile at twitter.com/curtinsarawak, YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/CurtinUniSarawak, or Instagram at instagram.com/curtinsarawak.