Aberdeen: Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) has been crowned champion of the EAGE Laurie Dake Challenge 2026 after winning first place in the competition's final round held in Aberdeen, Scotland. UTP's team emerged as the victor ahead of the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India, in this international student competition focused on integrated geoscience and petroleum engineering.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the competition is organized by the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE) and draws entries from over 40 universities worldwide each year. The winning team from UTP comprised Fong Yuen Sie, Winnie Lo Lin Lin, and Noor Amirah Syahirah Noor Aizam from the Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Geoscience program, along with Ng Zi Jin from the Bachelor of Petroleum Engineering with Honours program.
Previously known as the FIELD Challenge, the EAGE Laurie Dake Challenge encourages multidisciplinary collaboration between geoscience and engineering while focusing on technical excellence and commercial decision-making in subsurface field development. Participants are required to interpret complex subsurface datasets, develop integrated field development strategies, and present their recommendations to panels of industry experts. UTP's team emerged as champion after several rounds of assessment and elimination.
Dr Abdul Halim Abdul Latiff, UTP Chair of Geoscience, commented that securing the championship title against some of the world's leading universities reflected the team's technical excellence, teamwork, and determination. 'This achievement is a testament to the quality of talent we are nurturing at UTP and our commitment to developing future energy professionals capable of addressing increasingly complex global challenges,' he said.
Speaking on behalf of the team, Fong expressed that presenting their ideas before industry experts and competing on an international stage was an invaluable experience. She emphasized the importance of collaboration, adaptability, and making decisions in situations where there is no single perfect answer as key lessons learned from the competition.
UTP highlighted that the achievement underscores the strength of its experiential and industry-focused approach to education, emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary learning and international collaboration in preparing future professionals for challenges related to sustainability, energy transition, and technological advancement.