The university stopped admitting students to its petroleum engineering bachelor's degree program in 2021 after a multi-year period of low oil prices, corporate consolidation and widespread energy sector layoffs.
But in an interview Friday, Anders Nygren — vice-dean of the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary — said the program will be on offer again for students beginning their post-secondary studies this fall. He added the university is also hearing anecdotally from students interested in courses in oil and gas engineering, though he said he does not know what kind of enrolment numbers that may translate to.
Since then, however, oil prices have rebounded. Oil and gas remains Alberta's No. 1 industry, and Canadian oil companies have been generating strong and at times record-breaking profits over the past two years. Tristan Goodman, president of the oil and gas industry group the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, said energy companies were"very disappointed" by the university's 2021 decision to halt the oil-and-gas degree program."Yes, this industry goes up and down like any commodity-based sector ... but I think it was just not a great move on the part of the university and I'm pleased to see they're rectifying the problem.
But he said young people interested in careers in energy need to be prepared to pivot and adapt their careers in the years to come.