How I won the Poster Presentation Competition at Student Technical Congress 2020

I feel blessed, honoured and delighted that I got the rare opportunity to represent my university and our country at the Student Technical Congress 2020

I recently took part in the prestigious International Conference STC (Student Technical Congress 2020) organised by the German Section of Society of Petroleum Engineers (GSSPE) to present my poster. This conference was centered around the upstream oilfield and energy-related disciplines. It was an honour for me to win the prestigious Poster Presentation Competition. I was voted as the Best Poster Presenter by various industry professionals and my fellow participants at the conference. It was an exhilarating journey for me right from the very beginning when I submitted my abstract for the conference to the moment when my name was announced as the winner. 

As a student, I have always put my heart and soul into every project I have worked on. But one particular project that lured me in was  ‘Produced Water Treatment by Adsorption Technique’ which I had done in my minor. I was determined to work on this topic further and present it on a large platform for everyone to take notice and get inspired by my work.

When I was applying for the conference by sending the abstract of the project, I would ponder if this piece of work would make it to the International platform or not. Is the project worth competing with the work of global researchers or not? But I was optimistic and did not lose hope till the end. As hard work always pays off, my project made it to the final 13 abstracts chosen from several entries received from across the globe. 

It was my first ever International Conference.  A little nervous, I worked hard on my poster and was fully prepared when I presented it in front of industry professionals and other foreign participants. I received great appreciation and valuable inputs and suggestions from the experts for further development of my project. The fact that I won the poster presentation competition boosted my confidence. During the entire session, I focused on showcasing the content of the poster and interacted with my fellow researchers and industry experts for career advice. 

It was a memorable moment for me when my name was announced as the winner. I feel blessed, honoured and delighted that I got the rare opportunity to represent my university and our country on such a big platform. This experience made me confident about my knowledge and skills. If you are passionate and dedicated to make a difference in your life, then the right opportunities will be at your doorstep. You must grab them and work towards them.  

I express my sincere gratitude to faculty, School of Engineering, Dr. Srinivas Reddy Devarapu for giving this idea and helping me throughout the research and experimentation work. Also, I would like to thank the UPES faculty for equipping me with the best technical acumen. I am grateful to my family for their love, encouragement and incredible support. Lastly, I would like to give credit to my friends Nishant Nigam, Nishant Patel and Samridhee Sah for their support and guidance.

(The writer is a final year student of B. Tech Applied Petroleum Engineering with specialisation in Upstream, Class of 2017-2021)