Shell Canada announced it will invest $1.15 million with the U of C to develop the future workforce capacity and research innovation critical to industry success.
“This investment is about developing the skills, the attitudes, and the science Canada and indeed the world will need to meet its energy challenge,” said Shell Canada President and CEO Clive Mather. “We’re working to promote technical education, research and innovation—it is at the heart of what we need as a company, as an industry and as a society.”
“On behalf of the U of C community, I am very pleased that Shell is supporting the work of our students and scientists,” said U of C President Dr. Harvey Weingarten. “This type of relationship is a win-win for schools and industry. Our students get access to industry and real-world experience, while Shell benefits from top-notch research and the best and the brightest that universities have to offer.”
Four hundred thousand dollars will support the creation of the Shell Experiential Energy Learning (SEEL) Program with the U of C’s Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment, and Economy (ISEEE). SEEL will provide funding for enhanced learning opportunities for students, including club activities, field trips, and undergraduate research projects, with a focus on the areas of business, engineering, earth sciences, environmental design, natural resources law and information technology as they relate to sustainable energy, environment and economy.
The support comes under the auspices of Shell Canada’s Campus Ambassador Program (CAP), a recruitment and attraction initiative that involves Shell working directly with selected university campuses across Canada to support student-focused programs and projects. The intent is to foster meaningful connections between Shell, students and faculty and to bring out the best in Canada’s students today knowing they will become the leaders of tomorrow.
In addition to the CAP funding, Shell is today investing an additional $750,000 with ISEEE and the Schulich School of Engineering to purchase equipment that will allow oil sands researchers to more accurately understand bitumen characterization. The research will be directed by Dr. Harvey Yarranton, Associate Professor of Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, and his students, who will use this new equipment to study bitumen and fluid interactions. The goal is to develop a more effective in situ recovery process, to extract bitumen that is too deep to be mined from the surface.
“Growing demand for energy is making research on difficult hydrocarbons a priority for Shell,” said Dr. Lorraine Whale, Manager, Oil Sands In Situ Research for Shell. “This work is foundational to our understanding of bitumen-recovery processes and will help us work toward making the process more efficient, furthering our progress toward sustainable development.”
For more information, contact:
Mark Lowey
Communications Director
University of Calgary
(403) 210-8659 Email:  mlowey@ucalgary.ca
Tara Black
Community Investment Manager
Shell Canada
(403) 691-4463
Photos of cheque presentation available upon request.
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