Students at universities around the UK have received a financial boost from the Society of Petroleum Engineers Aberdeen Section as part of its 2018 bursary programme.

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose members are engaged in energy resources development and production. Each year, bursaries are open to students studying oil and gas related subjects from the University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University, the University of Dundee, Heriot Watt University and the University of Strathclyde.

More than 65 students, from undergraduate to PhD levels, applied for this year’s programme, with 20 awarded funding.

A shortlist of students was selected and invited to attend an interview panel, which allowed judges to decide who the recipients of the top awards of £2500 would be. A further 15 students were awarded £500 each.

Ritika Pawar, Chair of the Student Development committee, said: “The SPE Aberdeen bursary programme has been a major source of student support for more than four decades and we are proud that this has continued, despite industry challenges over the years.

“Once again, entries presented our judging panel with a challenging task however we have been extremely encouraged by the calibre of the students and their clear future potential. The interview stage also allowed us to meet and hear more from these promising individuals and like previous years, this process did not disappoint.

“Sharing technical knowledge is at the core of SPE and as much as this applies on a peer-to-peer basis, it is even more important that we share this knowledge and support our industry’s future generation.”

Each of the students were presented with their awards at SPE Aberdeen’s monthly technical meeting on 28 March. The top bursary recipients have also been invited to present at SPE Aberdeen’s events over the coming months.