The new landscape of global energy spells profound challenges for industry players and consumers. As new strategies are required, Abdulrahman Khaled Hasan Saeed, 24, a chemical engineering student at UTP, takes all this in his stride to promote the vast economic and environmental potential for energy efficiency.
Notably, the president of the UTP's Energy Institute student chapter society, Abdulrahman was recently nominated for the Energy Institute's Energy Champion Award.
The competition, which concluded on the 7th of November, had placed Abdulrahman alongside other industry heavyweights. Among his competitors were a senior scientist from Saudi Aramco and four other CEOs in the energy sector. Nonetheless, Abdulrahman's work, which bridges the gap between academia, industry and society was duly recognized by the world's leading energy institute.
He says, “It's an award that recognizes impactful contribution in the energy industry. There are seven categories. I was nominated among the top six in an open category that seeks to recognize global energy champions. I was up against some industry heavyweights who are CEOs of big multinational companies and researchers."
Speaking of his work that earned him a top six place in contention for the award, Abdulrahman says, “Last year, on the 18th of Nov 2018, we established the Energy Institute society at the university. In the space of a year, through our events and networking efforts, our activities have directly impacted about 1,200 students."
In addition, Abdulrahman shares that the society's activities have gained a strong traction on social media. Across the society's social platform, it has reached over 100,000 individuals spreading awareness about the future of energy and sustainability.
“We have the highest record of events. In total, we carried out 50 small to big scale events this year alone. The society has the highest number of trips too. We visited eight energy companies in seven trips."
Rallying support through the society's dispersed activities, UTP's Energy Institute society has drawn membership participation from 15 nationalities, the highest for any club and society at UTP.
Abdulrahman says, “I set a high standard for my team. For every event, our aim is to publish an impact report of the work we do."
Last year, UTP Energy Institute society's was an official partner at the ASEAN Student Forum. Abdulrahman says, “ASEAN Student Forum is an event under the purview of UTP-ASEAN Student Association."
According to Abdulrahman, the forum, themed “Energising Fellowship for Sustainable Energy", the event convened participation from 18 countries. “Our role was to bring in notable speakers from the industry to gear up our students for the challenges ahead."
Significantly, the outcomes from the discussions were escalated to the ASEAN committee. “It's a collective to act to and voice out our youth's opinions," says Abdulrahman.
Abdulrahman and his team have big plans for next year. “We will be doing two mega events for next year. We want our work to touch not just everyone at the university, but also the global community."
Educating people about the energy challenges that lie ahead, “we expect a turnup of between 500 to 800 with delegates from major economies such as the UK, China, Philippines and Singapore to take part."
Abdulrahman who has now built a valuable industry network says, “Currently, the society has 121 members across seven departments. Myself and the team have created a wide and vast network with the energy industry and we will continue where we left off this year to advance the industry towards global energy sustainability."
Abdulrahman says “ This successful growth would not have been possible without the support from Assoc. Prof. Dr Khaled Abdalla Elraies, the head of Petroleum Engineering Department and the Advisor of the club, Ir. Haizatul Hafizah binti Hussain and last but not least, the members of Energy Institute Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS who have been working tirelessly to champion the cause of the energy industry"
Abdulrahman is another prime example of UTP's profound career connected learning and industry collaboration. From the work we do, we foster long-term relationships with our global social-impact partners to prepare our students, people and researchers as global citizens.
As a leading university in engineering, science and technology, our graduates are driven to exceed their professional objectives and contribute towards overcoming capability deficit across all sectors and industries.
