On October 12-13, 2008, the Geological Society of India organized a conference to commemorate their 50th anniversary. The conference was full of technical session on recent trends in earth sciences. Many of the speakers showed the contribution of Indian geoscientists to their nation. The conference was taken place in the National Institute of Advance Science auditorium in Bangalore. About 400 geoscientists from different part of India attended the conference. The organizer also invited a number teachers and school students to attend the conference.
Prof. Harsh Gupta, the president of the Geological Society of India, invited Herman Darman, past president of AAPG Asia Pacific region, to give a talk. Herman Darman (Shell International E&P) gave his talk titled ‘Geoscience Organization Role in Full Filling Global Petroleum Workforce Need: Example from the Asia Pacific Region’. In his talk, Herman highlighted the importance of countries like India, China, and Indonesia as the main source in future geoscientists. The organizations can help the universities in these countries in improving the quality of their graduates. Bridging the gap between the industry and academia will be a significant role of the geoscience organizations.
There were about 30 talks in the conference. Apart from Indian speakers, invited speakers from Germany, USA, Japan, France, South Africa and Indonesia came to deliver their talks. Most of the presentations related to the current activities.
Abstract
The geoscientists ‘factory’ for the petroleum industry is shifting from west to east. The Asia Pacific region is now recognized as the source of future skilled resources. China, India & Indonesia producing qualified geoscientists to full fill world industry requirement.
As a ‘factory’, Asia Pacific region can produce a big quantity of geoscientists. The challenge from the industry is on the quality of the graduates and their communication skill. Many universities in the region depend on relatively poor laboratories with limited equipments. Many books in the library are out of date and online journal may not be affordable. The universities are also short of lecturers with limited industrial background.
AAPG Asia Pacific region and our local affiliated organizations are challenged to improve the quality of the graduates from the region. Several programs have been initiated to bridge the industry and the academia. AAPG programs such as Visiting Geoscientists, Distinguished Lecturer, Imperial Barrel Awards and Publication Pipeline are well received in the Asia Pacific region. Local organizations, such as the Geological Society of India, play a major role in setting up the network and identify the local need. Therefore AAPG will strengthen the collaborations with the affiliated organizations and local partners. This presentation will also show some examples of AAPG programs in the Asia Pacific region.
Herman Darman (Shell International E & P)
Past Asia Pacific Region President of
American Association of Petroleum Geologists