L to R: Murray Cobbe, President & CEO, Trican, Chetna Gupta, MEng student, Marielle Flottat, President, Chemical & Petroleum Engineering Student Society, Dale Dusterhoft, VP Technical Services, Trican
In January, the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary officially opened the Trican Petroleum Engineering Laboratory. This lab was made possible by a donation from Trican and contains state-of-the-art equipment that will be used to train future engineers for many years to come. “On top of learning teamwork, creativity and leadership, these students are exposed to unique real-world applications that will create the foundation for excellence in the next generation of engineers,” says Dr. Elizabeth Cannon, Dean of the Schulich School of Engineering.
First, there was a strong need for a lab to provide students with hands on training to complement their lectures. The University’s old lab contained outdated equipment that was inefficient and did not prepare the students for what was
happening within the industry. The new equipment, however, will provide students with the opportunity to train on the same equipment used in our own laboratories. Having well-trained engineers will benefit Trican and our industry for years to come.
Second, the laboratory provides Trican with exposure to future employees or customers. Engineers who train in this lab will likely work in our industry. When they graduate, they will know who Trican is and will have been exposed to some of the technology we use in our business. They will also have seen pictures of our field equipment. This exposure will help Trican in its future recruiting efforts and also benefit Trican if they become future customers.
Last, but not least, Trican feels it is important for us to give back to the community. We are a very successful Alberta-based company and we want to share this success by bettering the community in which we live. Some of our employees’ children may attend this school in the future as might those of our customers. Both can feel proud that Trican is part of providing forthcoming generations with a better future.
