The first annual Middle East Geoscience Student Conference is set to launch Feb. 26 through March 1 in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
The event will give students the opportunity to advance their knowledge, discuss new opportunities, expand their horizons and share their expertise and interests with other students and professionals.
Hyra Dalisay, an organizer of the event, explained that the four days will be filled with oral presentations from a variety of experts about innovative topics, poster presentations, panel discussions with leading experts in the field, a technical course and a field trip.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in a number of challenging competitions during the conference. The competitions will include the Imperial Barrel Award Program, aimed at graduate students from universities around the world. For the competition, teams will analyze a dataset and present their findings to a panel of industry professionals. Up for grabs are scholarship funds for their university’s geoscience department.
Geo-Quiz will also be included in the competitions. The challenge will allow students to compete as teams and against one another. Teams will go head to head during quiz rounds, attempting to answer timed questions. The winning students will receive travel grants to Paris, France for the 79th EAGE Conference and Exhibition to be held in June.
The Middle East Challenge Bowl will round out the competitions with another fast-paced clash of teams competing in quiz rounds. The winning team will represent the Middle East Region during the SEG International Exposition and 87th Annual Meeting in Houston this September.
The idea for the conference was developed during a committee meeting between AAPG, the European Association of Geoscientists and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists.
Dalisay said that the attendees of the meeting decided to collaborate in new ways to create quality events in the region.
“Since all of the societies host student events every year, the three societies joined forces once more to bring the region an exciting annual event for geoscience students,” she said.
Dalisay explained that they are expecting to have 80 students in attendance from more than 13 universities and seven different countries.
It’s hoped that the conference will grow each year and become a valuable event for the students.
“Certainly, with the growing youth in the region, we expect this to be a successful conference that will engage regional geoscientists while working together with the industry to enhance their technical skills,” she said.
To learn more about the Middle East Geoscience Student Conference, visit megsconf.com.