Representatives of Gazprom Neft arrived at Saratov State University on March 19. One of the goals of the delegation's visit is to find students for internships at the company's enterprises. This is the first time SSU students have been given such an opportunity.
The delegation was headed by CEO of Engineering and Technology Service Alexei Gubarev. The heads of the structural divisions of the Gazprom Neft Group of companies also arrived in Saratov.
SSU researchers and university managers had been preparing for the meeting. The delegation will be eventful – in three days, the guests are to visit the scientific centres and laboratories of the university, get acquainted with scientific personnel and developments, and hold a strategic session.
On the first day of the visit, the guests were greeted by SSU Rector Alexei Chumachenko and Vice-Rector for Research and Digital Development Alexei Koronovskii. The delegation was accompanied by Head of the Gazpromneft – SSU Centre Marina Zimina.
Alexei Chumachenko commented that the university is changing the curricula and standards to meet the needs of the customer, as well as integrating the additional competencies into training that are of interest to partners. He pointed out that SSU researchers are working in modern equipped laboratories and showing high results. Saratov State University offers a product approach in the cooperation with industrial partners.
‘Today, the university is actively developing cooperation with a number of industrial partners who are ready to implement scientific proposals, organize internships, and provide jobs to graduates. It is wonderful that Gazprom Neft is showing interest in our students,’ Alexei Chumachenko said.
The meeting members also discussed the structure of the company, due to its industry diversity each graduate will be able to find their place. The participants learned about the possibility of a paid internship in Noyabrsk, Khanty-Mansiysk, Pokachi, St. Petersburg, Tyumen, and Orenburg.
Alexei Gubarev, CEO of Engineering and Technology Services, marked that cooperation with SSU will help the company solve complex production tasks in terms of import substitution, ensuring technological independence, and constant market changes. He noted that the purpose of the visit was to get acquainted with students and choose personnel for both internships and employment.
Head of the Cooperation Programme with Universities of the Gazprom Neft LLC Pavel Sorokin drew attention to the fact that the company needs qualified personnel and said they were going to employ talented students from SSU. Gazprom Neft is aimed at the strategic development of high-tech methods in oil production. Pavel Sorokin also added that the company is interested in cooperation with Saratov State University, as SSU trains specialists, including in geology and geophysics.
The colleagues noted that they are ready to build long-term cooperation with the university and ensure the involvement of geologists, mathematicians, and physicists in the company via the Gazpromneft – SSU Research-to-Education Centre.
In SSU Bldg. 6, the members of the Gazprom Neft delegation met with Vice-Rector for Secondary Vocational Education and Social Work Olag Nesterova, Dean of the Faculty of Geology Maxim Pimenov, staff of the Department of Geophysics, and Director of Geology College, SSU, Lidia Verina.
Chair of the Department of Geophysics Elena Volkova, spoke about the training at the Faculty of Geology, paying attention to the courses in oil and gas geophysics, as well as oil and gas geology. Besides, she focused on the students' internships.
Director of Geology College of SSU, Lidia Verina, spoke about the vocational professions that college students receive as part of the training for mid-level specialists. There are ten courses at the college for studying. The most popular of them among students of the Faculty of Geology are workover assistant drillers, oil and gas production operators, and sling operators.
Olga Nesterova reminded her colleagues about the employment of SSU students and graduates and the regular participation of young people in the Professional Development Marathon, Professional Development Week, and job fair.
The representatives of the company met with students of the Faculty of Geology at the SSU Boiling Point. They spoke in detail about the wide range the organisation and production facilities. Head of Cooperation Programmes with Universities of the Gazprom Neft LLC Pavel Sorokin explained to the students that the company is interested in young personnel. ‘We decided that we needed to move to the stage of searching for our future employees inside the university, and we started this search from Saratov State University. For three days, we will get to know you just to see who are the starlet that will become part of a large Gazprom Neft team and will go among the ten lucky ones to field internships,’ he noted.
‘I learned that Gazprom Neft has quite a lot of specialists and a wide range of professional fields for successful employment. Now I am finishing the course in geophysics, this is the direction that provides opportunities for choosing the job of my dream. And after graduation, I want to work at Gazprom Neft,’ Vsevolod Filippov, a fourth-year student at the Faculty of Geology, said.
During the day, the company representatives chose senior students of the Faculty of Geology, the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics, the Faculty of Economics, and the Institute of Physics for internships in Gazprom Neft. Future specialists answered the questions about mathematical modelling, packaging and management of innovative projects, and field development. For young people, an internship can be the beginning of a career in a company.
‘There are many national research universities in our ecosystem focused on fundamental science – these universities provide flexible competencies that are useful in solving applied industry tasks. We cooperate with SSU in engineering services – the university staff is developing digital tools. Now, we want to complement our cooperation by involving students. We have been efficiently working with Saratov State University, we understand that due to the Gazpromneft-SSU Research-to-Education Centre, we can upgrade the university resources with the internships. The development of our partners is very important for us,’ Pavel Sorokin, Head of the Cooperation Programme with Universities of the Gazprom Neft LLC, said.
‘When choosing the students, it is important for us to know modern devices and approaches to work at the enterprise. It is necessary to know safe production rules. Before entering the field, the students will undergo training and pass the exam for admission to production. The trainees will be able to gain skills in working with geophysical equipment and working in a team,’ Alexander Listik, Head of the Programme for the Development of System of Specialties of the Gazprom Neft LLC, commented.
To recall, the Gazprom Neft – SSU Research-to-Education Centre has been part of the innovative structure of Saratov State University since 2023 and is a unified entry point for partnership.
Since 2021, SSU has been part of the Gazprom Neft research-to-education ecosystem being a multidisciplinary partner of the company. The cooperation with universities as part of the ecosystem is based on the principle of a “closed club” and implies a long-term partnership based on ten-year framework agreements. Last year alone, SSU fulfilled about twenty orders of the company.
In January 2023, SSU became a member of the Gazprom Neft League of Universities, an integrated system of cooperation with universities focused on the development of partnerships and cross-functional cooperation. As a member of the League of Universities, SSU is the official strategic partner of the company.
