Tecpetrol worked with one of the schools participating in the Technical Gene program to design a strikingly disruptive stand, presented at the Youth Oil & Gas Conference (JOG). The objective was by and for young people to explain what the energy transition is about, through activities, games and talks.

Last Monday was all about the younger generations taking part in the Argentina Oil & Gas exhibition. The JOG5 (the 5th Youth Oil & Gas Conference) is organized, planned and developed by the newest members of the oil and gas industry for their peers. The day was an opportunity for a deep dive into the topics of most interest for young people in relation to the industry, such as sustainability, career development, innovation and technology.

In addition, the Young Professionals Commission of the IAPG (Argentine Institute of Oil and Gas) launched a call for offers to develop different disruptive spaces designed to explore options for the industry as it tackles the challenges of the future. Tecpetrol’s stand was designed in conjunction with Technical School no. 12 in the Retiro district of the City of Buenos Aires, which is one of the educational institutions taking part in the Technical Gene program.

Technical Gene and the importance of learning by playing

"Through Technical Gene, in which this particular school and sixteen others from around the country where Tecpetrol is operating are taking part, we are seeking to contribute to training upstanding technicians. The idea is to make sure they have the right skills to deal with the challenges of the industry and be able to fulfill their career goals," explains Pablo Martellotta, head of Community Relations and one of the main figures involved in developing the process to produce this disruptive space.

Martellotta adds that the program's goal is to promote excellent work habits, foster links with the productive sector and its community, and incorporate and disseminate good teaching practices. This is why it was an obvious choice to ask the school students themselves to design the activities, talks, and games for the JOG5, under the supervision of their teachers.

As part of the focus on the energy transition, the students gave a talk on lithium and batteries, discussing their advantages in relation to other traditional energy sources. They developed dynamics such as an interactive Q&A game using the Kahoot platform. Another exciting feature of the Tecpetrol stand was the cell phone charging station using solar energy, subsequently donated to the Technical School no. 12 to enable students to continue working with their teachers on the energy transition and related topics.

Energized, a board game specially created by Tecpetrol

In this edition of the JOG, Tecpetrol also presented Energizados, a board game developed together with Maldón to teach people about the energy transition in a fun way. The game was enjoyed and also gifted, not only at the disruptive stand but also at the Group’s stand in the central pavilion.

Morena Morroni, an intern in the Communications area who was actively involved in developoing the game, explains the dynamics of Energizados: "It’s a competition between four people, and each player has nine tokens representing different types of energy. Players try to replicate with their tokens the energy transition plan shown on the card in the center of the table. Whoever does it first and rings the bell wins the round. The first person to win four cards is the winner."

With this year’s JOG5 over, the organizers on the Young Professionals Committee were extremely satisfied with the response from university students and young professionals who filled the auditorium and visited the exhibition. The industry is a world of opportunities for young people, as it’s growing and developing.