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The Future Leaders Forum of the World Petroleum Council is one of the key events in the oil and gas industry, held every three years in one of the 70 member countries of the World Petroleum Council. It is an excellent opportunity for strengthening the cooperation between young experts from the petroleum and related industries from all over the world. The Forum included discussions on a considerable number of dominant topics in the oil and gas industry. Snežana Lakićević, Advisor to NIS CEO, took part in panel session Attracting the Best Talent – How to Stay Competitive, which dealt with the issue of attracting and retaining talent in companies within the context of transformation of the image of the oil and gas industry. Ms. Lakićević presented NIS’ activities within its Energy of Knowledge programme, and stressed that the improvement of the Serbian education system in line with the current needs of the company is one of the objectives of its cooperation with educational and scientific institutions. She underlined that investing in young talented professionals is one of the priorities of this programme, which includes support to natural science competitions, reconstruction of classrooms and laboratories, visiting lectures given by NIS’ experts, etc. At this panel, NIS also presented its student scholarship programme, implementation of new models of mentoring schemes and participation of students in international events. Sofija Šoškić, junior specialist for geological and technical activities (GTA) in the Department for Geological Research and Reservoir Engineering, Exploration and Production Block, and Marina Kostić, specialist for reservoir engineering in the SR Section, STC NIS Naftagas, attended the Forum in the capacity of NIS’ delegates and representatives. “Taking part in the Forum provided us with a better insight into the practices that companies, organisations and institutions from all over the world use to develop professional competencies and leadership skills of their employees, and to create corporate cultures which will strengthen team work and facilitate the implementation of technical and organisational innovations,” Sofija Šoškić has said. As one of the most valuable experiences from the Forum, Marina Kostić highlighted the opportunity to attend lectures and open discussions of people who hold high positions in the world’s leading oil companies. “For me, this is one of the most interesting and useful events I have attended. Some of the most engaging topics dealt with hard-to-reach reserves, predictions on oil production in the future, innovative technologies, effects of renewable resources on oil prices, as well as with the various approaches companies employ to resolve issues in this industry”, Marina Kostić has stated. NIS’ scholarship holders, Andrija Avramović from Gubkin University from Moscow and Irena Gorjanc from St. Petersburg Mining University also attended this important event for the oil and gas industry. Andrija Avramović presented the results of his scientific research on the topic of increasing oil recovery on a Serbian oil reservoir, conducted as part of his final-year paper in the collaboration with NIS’ employees. “The Future Leaders Forum of the World Petroleum Council was a really memorable experience for me. I had an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and opinions on prevalent challenges in the oil industry with my colleagues from all over the world,” Mr. Avramović has said. Irena Gorjanc, who volunteered at the Forum, said that they had began preparing much earlier, during the selection of volunteers from 60 countries. “At the Forum, we collaborated closely with its organisers. I was responsible for one of the open dialogues on the topic “Sustainable Development of the Petroleum Industry in the Growing Energy Market“. These forums show us the importance of opportunities in which we can learn about innovations in our respective fields”, Ms. Gorjanc has underlined. This year, the Forum was attended by approximately 1200 delegates, participants, guests of honour and media representatives and representatives of petroleum committees from 41 countries, including the representatives of the Serbian National Petroleum Committee.
