Benediktson Scholarship
This year, the Society of Petroleum Engineers Canadian Educational Foundation will be awarding the Stephan V. Benediktson Scholarship to the top applicant in Canada pursuing a degree or diploma with intentions to enter the Energy Industry upon graduation. Preference will be given to those who are enrolled in a petroleum engineering program. When applying for this scholarship, please note your application will ALSO qualify in the General and B. Hanson Scholarship application selection. The top selected applicant will receive the Stephan V. Benediktson Scholarship of $3,000 CAD and a SPECEF Award Scholarship of $2,500 CAD, totaling the scholarship award amount of $5,500 CAD.
This year’s deadline for applications is November 10, 2024.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
Scholarship recipients will be selected by a committee through a competitive process. Students submitting applications for scholarships must meet the following requirements:
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Be a Canadian citizen, in their second year of pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, at a Canadian or US University.
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Be an SPE member at the time of your application. If you are not a member yet, you can easily join for free HERE, courtesy of Chevron.
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Hold satisfactory academic standing (as determined by the SPECEF Scholarship Committee).
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Extra-curricular activities through SPE, university and community, or other volunteer work.
*Please note that the quality of your application will be taken into account by the SPECEF Scholarship Committee. Make sure you have all documents uploaded and that they are clear and readable. Please refrain from submitting additional documents that do not support your application directly.
Applications for 2024-25 are now closed.
Mr. Stephan V. Benediktson
Stephan Benediktson was born on a farm in central Alberta and has spent much of the past 60 years travelling the world and leaving his mark in the International Oil Business. Working and living in nine different countries in North America, the Far East, the Middle East and South America. A Professional Engineer, Stephan advanced to increasingly responsible Executive positions and went on to found two successful Alberta oil companies; Benson Petroleum and PetroSantander Inc.
Through out Mr. Benediktson's career, he was at the leading edge of change from working on exploration drilling rigs in the early 1950’s as exploration moved from the plains to Northern Alberta and BC. As a high school drop out with Imperial Oils Drilling Department, Stephan was encouraged to return to high school by Imperials Drilling Superintendent, Charlie Visser, the “Big Dutchman”, which he did at the age of 24, graduating from the University of Alberta in 1962.
In 2016, Mr. Benediktson made a very generous donation to the SPE Canadian Educational Foundation in hopes to enhance the education of future Canadian engineers. He valued his schooling so much as it is what shaped his career and his future. In a recent interview with Mr. Benediktson, he left us with a message of encouragement to the future Canadian engineers and recipients of his scholarship, “I just hope it motivates students to work hard, seriously study and get good marks, so that you can do well after you graduate.”
