OREANDA-NEWS. BP, one of the UK’s top graduate recruiters, has today launched the UK Ultimate Field Trip 2015 (UFT), the UK’s leading university STEM competition that asks teams of three students to come up with a solution to a real-world global energy challenge. The UFT was launched in Angola and Canada last year and will again be held locally within these countries, as well as in the US.

This year’s UFT challenge is focused on water; the global supply and availability of which is an increasing issue for businesses and the environment alike.

Julia Harvie-Liddel, group head of resourcing at BP, said: “It is great today to announce the launch in the UK of the Ultimate Field Trip 2015. Water, the topic of this year’s challenge, is especially pertinent given the potential ramifications of a global water shortage. We hope that this will give students a real insight into our industry and show them that a career in oil and gas is a platform from which they can make a real difference.”

This year, the winning teams from the UK, the US, Canada and Angola will take part in a two-week field trip to Trinidad & Tobago, visiting BP’s natural gas operations in the country. The trip will give them the opportunity to experience a snapshot of life in the oil and gas industry, and to learn from each other as well as from interns and graduates already working at BP. Now coming into its sixth year, the UFT competition challenges university students from diverse backgrounds to put their skills to the test in a real-world challenge that will not only give them a window into the issues facing the energy sector, but also allow them to learn what a career in the oil and gas industry might ultimately involve.

The production and processing of oil, gas and biofuels both use and produce large amounts of water. Much of the produced water contains contaminants that must be treated before the water can be disposed of. Tightening regulations and increased demand for water in many parts of the world are resulting in increasing costs and risks. The ability to re-use produced water or treat it more efficiently could help manage environmental and energy sustainability challenges.

Identify and develop a novel technical solution that will reduce the amount of water utilised and/or find an effective use for water produced from operations.

This year’s prize is a two-week field trip to Trinidad & Tobago, where the winning team from the UK competition will join fellow winners from each of the other three countries to learn about BP’s operations in this market where BP is a major producer of natural gas. Each winning team member will also receive ?500 worth of Amazon vouchers.

On the field trip to Trinidad & Tobago students will have the opportunity to visit a BP offshore platform, as well as a BP onshore processing facility. Additionally the winning teams will spend some leisure time visiting Tobago and the Pigeon Point Heritage Park.

Students from UK universities are asked to register a team of three to take part via www.bp.com/UFT/UK and are required to complete a short technical quiz by the 21st November 2014.

A short-list of teams will be selected and asked to send in their competition entry to address this year’s Challenge. The successful teams will progress to a semi-final in early February 2015. The UK National Final, where teams will go head-to-head, will take place on the 10th March 2015 at the British Museum, London.

Christopher Clay of ‘I challenge you to a Joule’, the team from Oxford University which won the UK Ultimate Field Trip 2014, added: “We would absolutely encourage anyone thinking of entering the competition, to do so. We like a challenge and the competition provided us with the opportunity to test ourselves beyond the scope of our Engineering degrees. Personally, learning more about the energy industry has made me even more passionate about working in it.”