Students from Qatar winning the Shell Case Study competition visit Malaysia

Five Students, sponsored by Shell, from universities in Qatar travelled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to witness the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2012 competition in July. The students, 3 from Texas A&M University at Qatar and 2 from Qatar University, won the Shell Case Study competition which was held on the 6th of May 2012 in Qatar.

The competition, called “Running a Refinery”, brought together 38 technical students from Qatar University and Texas A&M University at Qatar, with the goal of presenting the students with an opportunity to manage a case study where they are required to salvage an underperforming refinery. Winners of the competition were given a chance to attend the Shell Eco-Marathon, one of the world’s most innovative and challenging student competitions held annually in Europe, America and Asia where university student teams are challenged to design, build and compete with energy efficient vehicles.

“We are always looking for opportunities to support Qatar’s youth in further pursuing technical studies and careers,” said Wael Sawan, Qatar Shell’s Executive Vice President. “Both the ‘The Running a Refinery’ and Shell Eco-Marathon competitions allow students to tackle real challenges, and to showcase their innovative and creative engineering skills. We hope through such programs to support the country in meeting the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030, specifically in the human development pillar.”

Advertisement

This unique opportunity gave the students a chance to witness students from all over Asia push the boundaries of design to build innovative, eco-friendly vehicles. The students were also thrilled to be able to cheer on their university’s teams that were taking part in this year’s Shell Eco-Marathon competition.

Faisal Al Jaber, Mechanical Engineer at Qatar University and currently an intern with Qatar Shell said: ”I am thankful to Shell for giving me this unique opportunity. I also had a chance to see the Qatar University team compete in the Shell Eco Marathon competition and I was glad that I was one of the lucky few that had the chance to cheer for them!”

During their stay, the students from Qatar were able to network with other students across Asia who had won a similar case study challenge in their respective countries. A trip to the Shell Refining Company at Port Dickson was arranged for the students to get a better idea of the business and see how Shell is tackling the future energy challenge. The Shell Refining Company operates with state-of-the-art technology and is the key supplier to Shell’s Oil Products’ businesses in Malaysia.

Ahmad Dakik, Graduate Petroleum Engineer student at Texas A&M University said: ”It was an unforgettable trip. It is amazing to find people from diverse cultures and nationalities meeting for the same goal of making this world a better & more efficient place. Shell is driving my mindset, as well as the generations to come, on the track of fuel efficiency”.