Simão Alberto

Experience in the oil sector

By Carolina Pronto

Simão Alberto is 34 years old and is from Luanda, Angola. His journey began at Lusófona University, in the Industrial Engineering and Management course from 2008 to 2012 and, over the last year of the course, participated in various job forums in Africa and Europe, which led him to receive proposals for internships and jobs. This academic success was due to his perseverance, focus and willpower.

One of these proposals, at Schlumberger, a high technology company in the oil sector, he worked as a field engineer, where he had the opportunity to work on an oil platform. He has been aboard several oil platforms, in the desert, forests and sea. After 9 months he got his first promotion. At this company, Simão became a specialist in acoustic and nuclear drilling tools, tools that used sound waves and nuclear radiation to obtain geological data. And consequently, he got the second promotion. Through Schlumberger, he also had the opportunity to work in several places around the world, namely the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, the United Emirates and Angola.

In mid-2017, he started working for BP as a materials coordinator/manager. These companies provided Simão with experience, namely a good command of offshore operations, support such as material management and maintenance and repair from the operational bases. With acquired experience, he decided to create his own company – Ascertain Solutions – in the field of material management, maintenance and repair of industrial machinery and equipment.

After a few months at the end of 2019, he received a proposal, where he would work as a consultant from an outsourced company in the UK until today. He accepted BP's proposal as a consultant and became a Materials Management Specialist, part of a team specializing in FPSO Shutdowns and Turnarounds.

Regarding the degree in Industrial Engineering Management (IEM), Simão points out that:

"I think that the degree in Industrial Engineering Management is a very versatile and multipurpose course and offers a wide range of professional outputs, not limiting the engineer to a specific market."

He also highlights that course offers quick and analytical reasoning, also offering technical skills that they develop throughout the course and that the job market distinguishes them from other workers. For his specific course, he highlights these disciplines: management, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and machine parts.

Simão refers to the support of the course's teachers, especially Professors Pedro Duarte and Cristina Guerra, who always encouraged him to go further.

As an inspiration, the message that the former student brought to present and future students is: "don't give up, stay focused on, make an effort and give your best [...] this course takes a short time and these few years will determinate a successful career."

On behalf of the IEM course community, we wish Simão all the best in his future path.

Reviewed by: Prof. Raphaela Vidal