The latest batch of undergraduates from Nigerian universities have commenced their Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) with Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), using the opportunity to acquire practical knowledge and skills in the oil and gas industry.

The 28 interns drawn from 17 universities, will serve for six months and gain valuable insights on the operations of a company which pioneered the development of a new generation of Nigerian professionals in the deep-water sector when it started production at Bonga in 2005.

?We?re pleased to continue with efforts to grow indigenous talent in deep-water oil and gas operations through the work placement programme,? said SNEPCo Managing Director, Ronald Adams. ?The programme offers exciting opportunities for young talents to grow their potentials in the oil and gas industry?

The interns, some of whom are also recipients of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC-SNEPCo scholarship programmes, have been speaking about their hopes and ambitions in the scheme.

A resident of Maiduguri and student of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maiduguri, Ayuba Haruna, who was displaced by the security crisis in the Northeast, won the NNPC-SNEPCo scholarship award in 2023, and is now an intern. He said: ?NNPC-SNEPCo?s investment in education and young Nigerians like me has not only changed my life ? it has given me purpose, direction, and a chance to build a better future.?

?I?m stepping into this role ready to learn, contribute, and be part of something truly bigger than myself,? said Kester Chukwumezie, a student of Electronic and Computer Engineering at Nnamdi Azikiwe University.

Two interns, Miss Ulan Andrew and Joseph Agom have been beneficiaries of the NNPC-SNEPCo National Cradle to Career and university scholarships. Miss Andrew, who is studying Chemical Engineering at the University of Ilorin, described the internship as ?truly a dream come true and the opportunity of a lifetime.? Joseph, a student of Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Port Harcourt, said: I?m deeply grateful to be a product of Shell?s long-term investment in education, and now part of the next generation learning from the very best.?

Another intern, Miss Oluwehinmi Oluwayemisi, a student of Industrial Mathematics/Computer Science at Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, expressed gratitude for the ?amazing opportunities? offered by the scheme.

The Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme is just one aspect of the investments in education by NNPC SNEPCo and Co-venturers, which include scholarship awards and donation of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) facilities to tertiary institutions.

Over 600 undergraduates have benefitted from the NNPC-SNEPCo National University Scholarship Award since its inception in 2016, while 32 ICT projects have been donated to secondary schools and universities around the country since 2007.

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