Vital Statistics

What is it? A co-educational university offering management and engineering courses. Who's the boss? S.J. Chopra is the chancellor. How cheap is it? Rs 4 lakhs for the management courses and Rs 2 lakhs for engineering courses. How to get in? For the MBA programmes you need CAT/MAT scores. Admission to BTech programmes is based on AIEEE scores followed by a specialised test, group discussion and personal interview. Where is it? University of Petroleum and Energy Studies,Energy Acres, Village and P.O.Bidholi, Dehra Dun-248 007. Website: www.upesindia.org

Nestled amidst dense forests and tall mountains in the scenic Pondha Valley in Dehra Dun is an upcoming energy university. Spread across an area of over 25 acres, the picturesque University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), offers rewarding careers in the oil and gas, power, transportation and mining sectors.

An endeavour of the Hydrocarbons Education and Research Society, UPES was established by a group of eminent individuals from the oil and gas industry in 2003. “We wanted to create a world class institution to train students who would become future leaders in the global energy business,” says Parag Diwan, vice-chancellor, UPES.

With a highly engaging curriculum and state-of-the-art infrastructure, the university is providing education, training, research, consultancy and outreach services in the oil and gas industry. “From student sampling to scenario planning, extensive research has gone behind the birth of UPES. To ensure a global flavour, we did international benchmarking and as a result, today UPES is the only university in the Pan-Asian region with a course accredited to the Energy Institute, UK,” adds Diwan.

Many firsts

UPES has many other firsts to its credit. From being the first university in the country dedicated to petroleum and energy studies to the first wi-fi campus in Uttaranchal, it also has the distinction of being the first among the new generation of public-private partnership universities approved and maintained by the University Grants Commission.

With over 26 graduate and postgraduate courses, you are spoilt for choice. For instance, the college of management studies offers MBA in oil and gas management, upstream asset management, power management, aviation management, port and shipping management, mining management and also a masters degree in oil trading. There is the option of doing a BBA in petro-marketing as well as an integrated BBA course.

The BTech and MTech programmes are offered by the College of Engineering studies. The specialisations include BTech in applied petroleum engineering and gas engineering, BSc in plant operations, MTech in offshore engineering and MS in energy systems. While 21 of these courses are conducted at the Dehra Dun campus, the other five are offered at the new Gurgaon branch.

Holistic training

The courses train students in various aspects of the energy sector. Students are taught to handle exploration, processing and transportation of natural gas and also learn about the different operations of a power plant. With the country’s oil and gas industry set to become a US$ 90 billion industry, India will emerge as one of the most important gas markets in the Asia-Pacific region. That probably explains why after a BTech in electronics and communications, Salam Sheikh opted for a MTech in petro-infomatics. “This course offers ample career opportunities. I can find work in providing software development or monitoring the control of crude,” points out Sheikh. Likewise, Mansha Tejpal, a student of MS in energy systems, hopes to find work as an energy consultant, energy auditor or energy manager in the private or government sector.

Students follow a rigorous schedule with four to five hours of lab work and another five in classes. All the hard work seems worthwhile when it gets translated into excellent placements. Some of the most reputed global organisations, including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation and Cairn Energy India Pvt Ltd, among others, have recruited from the UPES.

Tessy Koshy

OLD MEMORIES

Imran Karedia, business analyst, Satyam Computers, recalls his UPES days

I was the first batch of MBA in oil and gas management in 2005. And I can proudly say that two years at UPES fine-tuned my skills and turned me into a thorough professional.

Most of all, it taught me to dream big. I remember my faculty members who egged us on to work harder. Though we used to silently curse them then, today I am grateful that they made us follow a rigorous schedule.

The umpteen industry visits and projects gave us in-depth knowledge about the subject. From building a petrol pump to learning about the manpower costs of a refinery, the course covers various aspects of the petroleum industry. My stint as the head of the placement committee gave me skills that come in very handy at work today.

As told to Tessy Koshy