Repsol scholars, from left, Nur Izzati, Verlon, Nur Kamaliyah and Arswitaa, with Alan Britton (third right) and Dr Razak Mohd Lee Ali from UMS (fourth right).
KOTA KINABALU: Four engineering students from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) received their scholarship award from Repsol Oil & Gas Malaysia Limited (Repsol ) last Saturday. The scholarship would cover tuition fees, living allowances, purchase of a computer and opportunities for practical training and internships.
The deserving recipients were Nur Izzati bte Sukur (mechanical engineering), Verlon Vincent Lee, Nur Kamaliyah Dzil Razman and Arswitaa Baskaran (all chemical engineering). All except Arswitaa hail from Sabah.
They were among 16 recipients of the Repsol scholarship awards for 2017. The other 12 were drawn from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) with 5 recipients, Universiti Malaya (UM) with 3 recipients and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) with 4 recipients, pursuing Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Repsol Malaysia BU subsurface manager, Alan Britton, said this scholarship programme started during the legacy Talisman days and for good reason Repsol continues to carry on with this programme as education and the development of human capital is also a core Repsol value.
This scholarship programme was initiated in 2009 and over the first five years, a total of RM2.3 million was disbursed to 57 students at 3 different partners, UM, UTM and USM, to those majoring in geology, geophysics and engineering.
The 2nd cycle from 2013-2017 witnessed a further allocation of RM2 million and the inclusion of a new partner university in UMS. To date, a total of 102 students have benefited from the scholarship programme which is now nearing the end of the 2nd cycle.
Britton stated that the Repsol scholarship programme also complemented the government’s goal of encouraging students to pursue tertiary education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, indirectly helping to produce technically competent local graduates that fulfill the demands of the industry, especially for the oil and gas sector.
He reported with pride that 15 graduates from the 1st cycle were subsequently employed by Repsol and he hoped they will continue to hone their technical skills and acquire experience to contribute to the company and grow in their respective careers.
Meanwhile, eight big-hearted Repsol staff led by Alan Britton took time off from work last week to climb Mount Kinabalu to raise funds for charity organisations in Sabah and Labuan.
The climbers were Alan Britton, Valerie Lee, Siva Muthusamy, Mohd Irfan Mahmud, Tharmaraj Magathevan, Wafi Azri Sharkawi, Zulkifly Tajudin and Zul Ishan Sham.
The money raised will be distributed to five charities, namely, Yayasan Nur Jauhar, Bukit Harapan, Jireh Home, Rumah Anak Yatim Ar-Raudah and Persatuan Bagi Orang-Orang Istimewa Labuan.
This recent climb marks the fifth consecutive year that Repsol staff has demonstrated their caring gesture by volunteering to conquer Mount Kinabalu and raise funds for charity. Since the first climb in 2013, RM335,000 has been raised and distributed to charity organisations here.