10 July 2019
Student Chapters play a key role in the work of the EAGE Student Fund. Not
only do chapters provide students with a fun and engaging framework to
gain new skills, but it allows students to access an even wider range of
possible ESF support.
What makes a strong EAGE Student Chapter though? In this update, we will
focus on some best practices from around the globe on activities and how to
get started with your chapter.
Student chapters and their activities
Our chapter at the University of Calgary has a long track record with the
EAGE Student Fund. Their team competed in many editions of the Laurie
Dake Challenge, winning the challenge in 2012. The chapter is a hive of
activity with many events taking place throughout the year.
Paulina Wozniakoska, committee member at the SC Calgary, on their
motivations: ‘Every activity gives us great satisfaction knowing we’ve
developed our chapter further. This is also our advice to those considering
setting up a chapter – the work really helps you to enrich your resume by
gaining problem-solving, communication and leadership skills.’
Mateo Acuña Uribe, president of the EAGE Student Chapter at the Industrial
University of Santander in Colombia agrees: ‘An important aspect of
creating a chapter is the development of soft skills. Getting involved in an
EAGE Student Chapter helps you to connect to people who want to learn,
share and teach on topics such as geology, geophysics and petroleum
engineering.’
Teamwork & cooperation
To establish a strong chapter students to work in groups and cooperate with
other organisations. Mateo: ‘Key advise is to get a variety of people involved
in the chapter. Teamwork is an important factor to creating a strong
organisation. I think our desire to learn and transmit knowledge of
the geosciences to the university and wider community makes our chapter
stand out.
The wide range of activities by the Santander chapter are a good example of
developing a strong sense of commitment. For their (team)work, the
chapter was a honoured with a ‘Best Student Chapter’ award at the EAGE
Annual Conference and Exhibition in London.
In Calgary, an emphasis is also placed on cooperation. Here, a focus lies
on working together with other student chapters. Together with the SEG
and CSEG chapters, they host the Talks Series – a reoccurring event in which
industry professionals share their experiences. Paulina: ‘Linkage and
cooperation with industry is key to us. The Talks Series allows us to work
together with other chapter representatives and provide students with
great insights into getting a first (or second) job.’
The ESF and your chapter activities
Inspired? Make sure to read up on the options provided by the EAGE
Student Fund for setting up a student chapter. You may also want to read
our earlier posts from recently established student chapter at the University
of Aberdeen in the UK, or Curtin University in Australia.
If you already have your chapter established, we are keen to hear about
your chapter activities! Please share your experiences via
info@eagestudentfund.org
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