BP Skills Refinery winners

The 2018 BP Skills Refinery overall global winners were crowned and won the ultimate prize: an all-expenses paid trip to the One Young World Summit in London. In 2019, the Skills Refinery will be going global, allowing students from all over the world to upskill themselves in preparation for their future careers

In Autumn 2018, BP launched the Skills Refinery, an online portal to help students develop the professional skills they will need to succeed in their future careers. In its pilot year the initiative launched in five countries: Australia, Azerbaijan, Singapore, the UK and the US. 

 

The inaugural Skills Refinery tasked students with moving through five skills modules designed to equip them with practical skills for the business world and improve their employability: Emotional Intelligence, Critical Problem Solving, Influence and Communication, Cognitive Flexibility and Innovation.

 

As the students completed a module, they unlocked the next skill, finally reaching the final stage where they were invited to participate in a video challenge. This challenge required them to answer the question of how the world and BP can make the energy transition a reality, using one of the skills they had learned from the Skills Refinery. Their video submissions were then assessed, with each country selecting its winners. The regional winners went on to the final round, where the overall global winners were crowned and won the ultimate prize: an all-expenses paid trip to the One Young World Summit in London. 

 

The global winners all hail from Azerbaijan: Laman Jalilova, Joshgun Samadov and Jahid Suleymanov. They are all now looking forward to visiting London for the One Young World Summit in October. Here, they reflect on their experiences and what they learnt by taking part in the Skills Refinery: 

 

Joshgun found out about the Skills Refinery from a BP presentation at his university, and after watching videos of last year’s One Young World Summit, decided to join the challenge. With his teammate Jahid, Joshgun used the skills he valued most - critical problem-solving and innovation - for the final video challenge. He now finds these skills helpful in overcoming daily challenges: 

Jahid, who like Joshgun is studying Petroleum Engineering at Baku Higher Oil School, also enjoyed the Critical Problem Solving module most, but it is the Communicating with Influence module that he has made most use of since finishing the Skills Refinery: 

Laman, a chemical engineering student also from Baku, signed up to the Skills Refinery because she wanted to make the most of what she saw as an opportunity to learn the skills needed to meet the challenges of everyday life. She says: “we live in a constantly changing environment, so I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to develop professionally and personally. Over the course of the programme, I found that the modules were extremely effective in developing my skills and educating myself beyond what I would typically learn as part of my academic studies.”The winners attended the One Young World Summit this week and they were all brimming with excitement. As Laman put it, 

In 2019, the Skills Refinery will be going global, allowing students from all over the world to upskill themselves in preparation for their future careers