Alumni/Graduates

Russian Petroleum Industry Website

A networking website, designed by Russian Heriot-Watt graduates to make connections, has developed into a popular forum for Oil & Gas Industry professionals.

The forum was initially created in 2004 for internal communication for Heriot-Watt alumni who had studied in Tomsk. The communications tool has developed into discussions about professional subjects which attracted employees of different petroleum companies. For example, career-related discussions had led to the development of a section about career development in the oil and gas industry. Also, a section was introduced where companies post new job openings and professionals publish their CV’s for review. Technical support for Schlumberger and Roxar software users is also provided through specific section of website. A special section was also designed for graduates applying to study at Heriot-Watt’s Approved Learning Partner in Tomsk which delivers Petroleum Engineering and Reservoir Evaluation & Management MSc courses, together with an increasing number of Petroleum Industry short courses.

www.heriot-watt.ru is one of the most popular and well-known forums in the Oil and Gas Industry in Russia, according to forum statistics data. Over 5,000 users are registered currently including about 1,000 users who visit the website each working day. There are now more than 2,000 visitors per day.

Alexei Vashkevich, Deputy General Director of Samara-Nafta (Hess Corporation), graduate of Heriot-Watt in Tomsk (PE 2002) commented: “Heriot-Watt University and the Petroleum Learning Centre in Tomsk provide a unique chance for Russian technical graduates to get a leading western education, which allows students to get a modern and alternative view on field development, to learn western technologies and management standards and allows them to successfully implement these in Russian or foreign Oil & Gas companies. The growing popularity of Heriot-Watt in Russia is becoming apparent”.

“Heriot-Watt.ru has become a popular network source among the broad circle of oil & gas specialists who can publish job vacancies, discuss a wide scope of problems and get answers on questions.”

Heriot-Watt.ru is also cooperating with the www.oilcareer.ru website – which is similar but each website offers different applications. The site administrators are considering developing the forum further for use in professional network development in Russia and all over the world.

For more information about Tomsk HW Learning Centre visit: http://hw.tpu.ru/en/center/ and for more information about the forum for Oil and Gas Geologists and Engineers visit: http://heriot-watt.ru

Text above provided by Heriot-Watt Alumnus, Boris Fionov (MSc Reservoir Evaluation and Management, 2004)