I always have sought opportunities to share my industry experience with students of higher institutions, and the AAPG Visiting Geology Program (VGP) has provided that platform.
My experience as a VG thus far has been both exciting and rewarding.
Late last year I visited the University of Calabar and spent some four hours interacting with undergrads and post-graduates students of geology. The session was fun, educational and highly appreciated by both the students and members of staff. At the end of the lecture session, a section of staff opted to take me around the city of Calabar. We eventually stopped by a local restaurant where I was treated to a sumptuous dinner of indigenous delicacies — epic experience.
In January 2016 I visited students at the University of Port Harcourt — and what a homecoming it us; UPH is my alma mater, so I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity to contribute to making the learning experience of current students even better. The department head was very supportive of the program; I believe he was even more so, as it was a former student that visited. We spent some time in his office catching up on old times and the radical changes that had followed. Also, the school authority was informed of my visit and conducted an interview with me, which was published in their quarterly news bulletin for Q1, 2016.
In all, the VG experience has expanded my network — I currently know far more students and lecturers — and improved my professional development. It has also provided me a platform to contribute to society in a very meaningful way. I'm truly looking forward to more visits in the coming months and years!
The program is designed to be a vehicle for better communication among students, faculty members, university administrators and geosciences professionals. It has been an effective means of offering first-hand factual discussion on the current energy situation, the role of geology in society, new developments and resources, with students having the opportunity to meet practicing geoscientists and benefit from technical talks surrounding the Visiting Geoscientist's area of specialization, as well as on career options and the best way to plan a career path.
Visiting geoscientists are available to talk on many topics specific to petroleum geology and the geosciences, including environmental geology, energy minerals, hydrogeology, oil and gas, unconventional resources and climate change.
So far in the Africa Region, VGP lectures and workshops have been well received, with some VGs adding to the richness of their DL tours by including class exercise sessions on subsurface mapping map and sedimentary log interpretation. This year, VG tours have been held in universities in Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt.
In Egypt, VG tours are mostly held via the gracious support of Apache Corporation, which hosts between 20-30 students from several universities at a time at their office complex in Cairo.
AAPG Africa Region has been working toward improving the reach and coverage of the program for the benefit of the geoscience student bodies across the continent. Globally, more than 200 colleges and universities have participated in the program, which continues to grow through the interest and efforts of AAPG and the geoscience industry. The program is fully funded through the generosity of the Visiting Geoscientists, their companies, the AAPG Foundation and the AAPG.
Request a Visiting Geoscientist Support a visit to your Alma Mater Contribute to the AAPG Foundation.