Abu Dhabi-based Petroleum Institute on Tuesday launched a special scholarship programme for the talented Emirati youth at the Al Ain Education and Career Fair.

Under this scheme, the institute will offer a fully-funded scholarship programme to the UAE's male and female talent and upon graduation, they will be guaranteed a work placement in the institution’s parent company Adnoc.

Petroleum Institute was opened in 2001 with the goal of establishing itself as a world-class institution in engineering in the oil and gas and the broader energy industries.

Announcing the scholarship programme, Dr Ismail A. Tag, senior VP and Provost at Petroleum Institute, said, “It is a very exciting time to be at the Petroleum Institute as it grows into a world-class engineering college and prepares new generations of youth to steward this country’s vast natural resources.”

“Our scholarship programmes are designed to develop the country’s next generation of leaders in the fields of engineering and applied sciences and support the government’s greater emiratisation initiatives,” he added.

With oil reserves in the UAE enough to support growth for at least another three decades, the oil and gas sector must now become fully self-sufficient in a knowledge intensive environment.

So far, more than 500 engineers and petroleum geoscientists – 80 per cent of which are UAE nationals – have received bachelor’s degrees from the Petroleum Institute, with the first class of undergraduate females graduating this spring, said Dr Tag.

The institute is also using the Al Ain fair to provide information about its most recent academic programmes, the Bachelor in Metallurgical Science & Engineering and the Bachelor in Polymer Science & Engineering. There are currently more than 1,000 students enrolled in the Institute, said Dr Tag.-TradeArabia News Service