Three T’s shine at education conference
July 6, 2011
THE HAGUE, The Netherlands — Aramco Overseas Company sponsored Arab European Universities Association (AEUA) presidents meeting on July 3-6, which was hosted by Groningen University.
Dr. Sibrandes Poppema, President of Groningen University, and Mr. Nabil Al-Dabal. MD of AOC gave a warm welcome to His Excellency, Dr. Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Angari, Minister of Higher Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
His Excellency Dr. Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Angari, minister of Higher Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Dr. Sibrandes Poppema, president of Groningen University; Dr. Max Van den Berg, Queen’s commissioner in Groningen; Dr. Sultan Abu Orabi, president of AEUA and several distinguished guests from various Arab and European countries attended the meeting. Nabil Al-Dabal, managing director of Aramco Overseas B.V., together with an AOC delegation, also attended.
AEUA was founded in 1998, and as its primary objective is to facilitate and stimulate collaboration among universities in European and Arab countries at an institutional, departmental and faculty level. The AEUA conference in 2011 intended to further increase academic contact between European and Arab countries.
Dr. Poppema opened the meeting by introducing the history of Groningen city and University of Groningen. Dr. Al-Angari also gave a presentation on education development, focusing on the Kingdom. Al-Dabal spoke about “Saudi Aramco’s 3T strategy —Talent, Technology and Teamwork“.
During his speech, Al-Dabal emphasized the importance of a talented workforce to the future of Saudi Aramco. “A highly skilled and motive workforce that enables us to make the most of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s oil, gas and petrochemical endowment”, he began, before elaborating on Saudi Aramco’s engagement in the development of the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology and affiliations with top universities in Europe, North America and the Far East. “Partnerships with other leading universities and research institutions are also an integral part of Aramco’s vision, which is driven by our desire to expand the domestic university knowledge pool in support of our research and development center, which has expanded to Europe, North America and the Far East,” he said. Al-Dabal also briefly mentioned the Saudi Aramco-sponsored students in UK and Continental Europe and the successful academic visits organized by AOC last year. At the end of his speech, he demonstrated the educational programme for continuing development of our employees: “Much has changed in the world of petroleum, but for all the new technology and more sophisticated infrastructure and operations, one thing that remains the same is the critical nature of the professionals that work in this industry, who still represent the most significant differentiating factor among energy companies,” Al-Dabal said.
The first day’s event culminated with an AOC-sponsored dinner at a historic building in Groningen, whose guest list included Dr. Al-Angari.
By Chili Lee
