SPE Aberdeen Section has awarded £27,500 to 21 students as part of its 2020 bursary programme.
With individual bursaries ranging from £500 to £3,000 available, a total of 71 students from undergraduate to PhD level applied this year from Robert Gordon University, University of Aberdeen, University of Strathclyde and Heriot-Watt University.
Each winning student was presented with their bursary award at a ceremony hosted by SPE Aberdeen, which took place on 12 March at Robert Gordon University.
Five students were awarded this year’s top bursaries of £3,000:
- Amy Connelly, University of Aberdeen
- Eilidh Heaton, University of Aberdeen
- Milena Zagulak, University of Aberdeen
- Sam Head, Heriot-Watt University
- Xiang Shi, Heriot-Watt University
A further 9 students were awarded £1000 each:
- Amanzhol Kubeyev, Heriot-Watt University
- Amirsaman Rezaeyan, Heriot-Watt University
- Mark Ashworth, Heriot-Watt University
- Nicolás Manuel Sosa, Heriot-Watt University
- Yevgeniya Morrice, Heriot-Watt University
- Theodor Alexandru Tufa, University of Aberdeen
- Christine Enowmbi Tambe, University of Strathclyde
- Ruissein Mahon, Robert Gordon University
- Augustina Ginikanwa, Robert Gordon University
A final 7 were awarded £500:
- Nengi Karibi-Botoye, Heriot-Watt University
- Miftah Hidayat, University of Aberdeen
- Bauyrzhan Batayev, University of Aberdeen
- Alberto Lener, University of Aberdeen
- Viktors Stepovojs, University of Aberdeen
- Robin Samuel Ponmelil Thundiyil, Robert Gordon University
- Emmanuel Eke, Robert Gordon University
The 2020 awards also showed strength of diversity, with women representing half of this year’s recipients and three out of the five top bursary awards.
Rob Lee, Head of Petrophysics Solutions at Shell UK was head of the student bursary selection committee for 2020 and commended the calibre of this year’s applicants. He said:
“Although the majority of applications tend to come from petroleum engineering students, the field of studies this year covered a wide range – not only chemical, mechanical, environmental and safety engineering, but also industry management, economics and law. The diversity of the skills and knowledge demonstrated in those planning a future career in energy is extremely encouraging for our industry.”
SPE Aberdeen’s scholarship programme has been running for more than 35 years and in the last ten years alone, the bursary programme has awarded approximately £200,000 of financial support.
Kenny McAllister, SPE Aberdeen Chairman said: “We are delighted to once again support our industry’s next generation, particularly during a time when such huge emphasis is being placed upon nurturing future talent.
“The amount of financial support our section has been able to provide for bursary awards over the years is tremendous. This is made possible not only through the dedication of our volunteers, but also the support from our event sponsors and delegates who help to provide the funds we use to support our STEM initiatives.
“On behalf of SPE Aberdeen, I’d like to congratulate each of the winning students and wish them all the best in their future studies.”
