Dr. James Edet, NAPE President
…Critical Research and Development (R & D) outfits are needed to primarily provide academic and industrial establishments.
…Digitization has to be integrated into the University Curriculum for teaching and learning of Geoscience since it is the present trend in the industry.
-By Felix Douglas
President of foremost oil industry Forum, Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Dr. James Edet, spoke at a media parley with journalists in Lagos that there is need for industry-academia collaboration.
Prior to the media parley, NAPE successfully held its 15th University Assistance Programme (UAP) Leadership Forum early in March with the theme: Bridging the Industry-Academia Gap: Consolidating the Gains of the Past and Projecting into the Future at Port Harcourt in Rivers State.
The forum was conceived to provide a platform and ambience for students studying the geosciences in Nigerian tertiary institutions for the exchange of technical knowledge, exhibition of new technologies and industry-academia collaboration.
The event was attended by over Eighty (80) professionals from the academia, petroleum industry and government institutions and it deliberated extensively on the various ways of Bridging the Industry-Academia Gap and moving from “think-tank” to “do-tank.
Dr. Edet opined that lack of high-quality workforce needed for Nigeria’s energy transition has been a nagging concern for industry and academia. The situation is further exacerbated by talent flight and the high level of competition for the relatively few skilled and well-trained professionals.
According to Dr. Edet, critical Research and Development (R & D) outfits that should primarily provide academic and industrial establishments a fulcrum for sustainable support and innovations are missing.
“There is also a need to bridge the gap between the old and new generations of workforce in the areas of grounded knowledge, Artificial Intelligence, and innovations in order to avoid knowledge loss and stimulate energy growth.”
The NAPE President said at the end of the forum, a number of resolutions were reached:
- Digital Transformation: Digitization should be integrated into the University Curriculum especially for teaching and learning of Geoscience, as it is now the trend in the industry (Software, Hardware, Internet connectivity, Cloud infrastructure).
* There should be a sustained collaborative effort between university and industry to draft a course content on renewable energy for universities. As there is the need for academia to align their Research and Development (R&D) activities to suit industry need.
- NAPE encourages NOCs and IOCs to offer more internship and sabbatical opportunities for Nigerian Geoscience students and lecturers, respectively, to enhance knowledge transfer.
- The creation of Centres of Excellence in various geopolitical zones in the country.
* Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) will be encouraged to collaborate with NAPE to enable data access for the academia for research and training. Example is having an open-source data to be used by academia and have specific data for research.
The universities should embrace the concept of visiting geosciences programs by NAPE/AAPG. Universities need to work closely with the industry in a mutual and symbiotic manner, where values are created on both sides.
- NAPE to act as a Special Purpose Vehicle by providing a buddy system between industry professionals and academia. The need to re-engineer University-Industry collaboration in Research and Development, Current Trends and Emerging Technologies for solution driven challenges.
- There is need to provide basic upstream geoscience and reservoir management and operations geology training platforms for internship with the intent of building local human capacity for future use and good succession plans. Capability development via a detailed and resilient competence framework for the future; Upskilling and reskilling of personnel to adapt to the changing business environment. We need to build our society and stop capital flight and knowledge flight.
- There is need for universities and industries to collaborate on special project that would add value to the academia and industry by way of SIWES and Internship programs where teamwork and business goals can be reached.
Responding to questions from journalists at the media parley which was coordinated by NAPE Publicity Secretary, Tunbosun Afolayan, the President said the association will ensure that it supports the growth and progress of the oil industry through industry-academia collaboration.
On the issue of curriculum and some aspects regarding academic activities, he said only National Universities Commission (NUC) reserves the right to intervene when necessary.
NAPE’s role is to collaborate and ensure that the industry moves forward to attain its objectives.
Afolayan also revealed that NAPE has opened some state chapters across the country in order to boost the association through training and enhance students roles.
NAPE is the umbrella association for persons involved in the professional application of geosciences and related disciplines to the exploration and production of oil and gas in the country. It has over 12,000 strong membership which cuts across the oil & gas industry and the academia. Founded in 1975, the Association’s flagship Annual International Conference and Exhibition holds in November every year.
Comment here