Is Petroleum Engineering Curriculum Change Far from Academic?

Abstract

Abstract The changing environment, demography of workforce and the advancements of technology require the urgency of the reforms needed in the petroleum engineering education and curriculum. Restructuring of the petroleum industry due to the protracted downturn is also aiding the accelerating pace of change. In alignment with the industry, the talent pipeline from the education system should also be in lockstep alignment. Curriculum changes are also required to take into consideration the topics and subjects related to sustainable energy sources as the world transitions to clean energy. This will help provide the students an opportunity to acquire interdisciplinary knowledge. Present-day education system must move away from the model of "learn at school" and "do at work" as the industry has moved away from "on the job" training or induction training. So, the petroleum engineering education must move to "learn and work" school model so that students are ready to take up the job from day one. The new approach should include basic engineering, advanced engineering and experiential learning that culminates to the required expertise to get assimilated in the workforce. The paper presents and addresses the scope and approach for a new curriculum for petroleum engineering education. This paper is an extended and repeat of text version of the paper SPE-206305-MS titled, "Petroleum Energy Engineering Education Reform: Flipping the Curriculum" paper presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dubai, UAE, September 2021 (Samuel 2021). This paper has an alternative solution and improves the theoretical framework of the course curriculum.