"Society's expectations of the industry are changing rapidly, including the expectations the next generation of workers have of employers. Companies will need to recruit and manage people differently to attract top talent if they want to make the technological advancements that are required to continue moving the industry forward."
Mavis Ure, '03 BSc(ChemEng), director of tailings operations and chair of the Women's Leadership Development Network, Suncor
"We need to think about it as a two-part challenge. First, our economy is critically tied to Alberta's oil and gas sector being globally competitive on both cost and carbon. The value this sector generates will allow Alberta to transition to more diversified energy offerings with opportunities to export our technologies and expertise worldwide. This lets us address the second part: transitioning the consumption of energy in Alberta to low-carbon emissions solutions."
Candice Paton, '06 BSc(MechEng), executive director of clean technology, Alberta Innovates
"Alberta's largest challenge will be how we carve our niche in a rapidly changing global energy system. We are global energy superpowers, but have yet to shift our focus to the changing landscape in this global system. Our collective expertise needs to spend significantly more time thinking through how we generate profits and deliver value in a world that is moving toward electrification and decarbonization."
Sean Collins, '09 BCom, president, Terrapin Geothermics
"One of the biggest challenges is finding ways to produce our energy in a sustainable and environmentally responsible way. One way to tackle this is with automation and new technologies to improve the processes that already exist."
Nicolas Olmedo, '10 BSc(MechEng), president and founder, Copperstone Technologies
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