A pioneering course in petroleum data management at Robert Gordon University (RGU) has proved to be so successful in its first year that Common Data Access (CDA) is offering two industry-funded scholarships for the second cohort of students.
The oil and gas industry continues to be a major provider of energy and employment globally and needs fresh talent to maximise current and future opportunities. In response to these industry needs, RGU and CDA, a subsidiary of Oil & Gas UK, jointly developed a Graduate Certificate in Petroleum Data Management specifically for the energy industry.
The online distance learning course, which will begin in late September, will develop students’ understanding of subsurface exploration and production data management and recognise its importance to upstream oil and gas businesses.
It provides flexible entry to an education in the field of petroleum data management and has been designed as an access route for those with relevant work experience in the energy sector who do not currently have the necessary qualifications in this area.
Jo Royle, Head of the School of Creative and Cultural Business, said: “We have been delighted with the success of the first cohort of the Graduate Certificate PDM. Feedback tells us that the course has been well received by students and employers. Students can use their new knowledge to better understand customer needs which translates into real business value.
It is therefore fantastic news that CDA is offering two fully funded scholarship places for the 2017/2018 intake. The overall objective of course remains the same, which is to support the industry by providing it with a steady stream of qualified data managers with specific knowledge of the subsurface environment.”
Chief executive of CDA, Malcolm Fleming, said: “The industry-academia partnership in developing this course has been a great achievement, with enthusiastic feedback across industry and the first cohort of students.
We are very pleased to continue to enable students to undertake this valuable course, and in doing so support the industry need for skills in managing data professionally and effectively, to ensure that maximum insight and value can be extracted from data assets to help the efficient recovery of oil and gas resources.”
The CDA Scholarships will be open to any student, worldwide, who has been accepted onto the course and who is in genuine financial need.
Scholarships will be awarded based on selection criteria with more weight placed upon academic merit for new entrants and on an applicant’s employment history and career development for those with industry experience. An awarding panel made up of representatives from RGU and CDA will assess the applications.
Application details are available on the RGU website scholarship page. The closing date for 2017/2018 applications is August 18 2017.
- Common Data Access (CDA) is an operating subsidiary of Oil & Gas UK, set up in 1995 to provide cost-effective data management services to its members and to the UK oil and gas industry in general