Aspiring technical students from Qatar University (QU) recently participated in the Qatar Shell Technical Case Study Challenge, organised by Qatar Shell Research and Technology Centre (QSRTC).
The competition allows students to experience what it would be like to be part of one of the world’s leading energy companies, according to a statement.
Students in their final and penultimate year of university were placed in teams of five and given a technical case scenario modelled after real-world challenges faced by Shell employees, in this case “Running a Shell Refinery.” Team individuals assumed specific roles and worked together to brainstorm ways to deal with a range of operational challenges, the goal of which was to propose solutions and strategies to improve the performance of the refinery.
Senior leaders and graduates from Shell were on hand to share their extensive knowledge.
Teams then presented their strategies to Shell functional experts, who evaluated the submissions and provided feedback and recommendations. The three winning teams were selected based on the validity and business robustness of their strategies, as well as the short and long-term implications of their solutions.
Maha Sultan al-Mannai, outreach and university collaboration manager at QSRTC, said: “We always strive to give students the opportunity to witness how their studies will translate into real-life work experience. These are real situations that project managers at Shell have to deal with on a daily basis, and I was very impressed by the technical capabilities and the passion that the students showed in dealing with them.
“We hope that after getting a glimpse of what their professional career might look like, this exercise has helped raise the students’ interest in pursuing a technical career.”
QSRTC, anchor tenant at Qatar Science and Technology Park, works closely with universities and schools to develop local Qatari talent and enhance technical capabilities.