GROWWW Female Engineers Scholarship Programme

Do not let anyone ever tell you it is impossible. It never is. If it were, I would not be here. Out of the thousands of extraordinary girls that are living a neglected life in the male-dominated society of subcontinental Asia, I dared to be different. I dared to lift myself up and strive to make my career as a Mechanical Engineer when everybody else was frowning upon the concept of women in black collar jobs. This was not easy. The road was tough, the path unclear and there were no guides. There were times of utter distress, self-doubt and sleepless nights and with all the swaying noises around, I might have quit one day if it were not for my parents that kept me going.

It was in those days that I happened to attend a MOL FEMP seminar in my university. I was challenging myself to go for big things and this gave me a chance to test and prove my abilities at a bigger stage. I applied right away even though the general perception of any girl from our university winning the competition was very low. I got the interview call for initial screening. The interviewer was kind enough to let me express myself in the first interview despite my overwhelming nervousness. From there on, I never looked back. I qualified to the finals event to be held in MOL Headquarters, Budapest. I travelled for the first time from Asia to Europe all alone. I made long-lasting friendships and boosting connections. I explored my abilities that I had seemed to forget. And then it happened. I never would have thought to reach the finals and win it all but it did happen. An ordinary girl from UET Lahore did make her way up to the top of a international company’s competition Finale.

This journey has had an impeccable and ever-lasting impression on my career and me. It made me realize my worth, my abilities and it proved instrumental in kick starting my career. I am currently able to pursue a higher degree in university of my choice because of the prize money and with future prospects of working at MOL.

Remember; do not let anyone tell you it is impossible, it never is.

Dear new participant, if you are thinking about applying for the Finalist of Female Engineers MOL Programme, stop thinking and give it a try, I swear you won’t regret it. I was in my third year at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics and I was thinking about applying or not for week. Now, I think that was one of my best decisions. The whole competition was really exciting and interesting. I learned a lot and I enjoyed viewing things from a new perspective. The final challenge was quite interesting and at the end we all were very tired but I loved every second of it. I think during the competition the best thing was that I was lucky enough to get to know so many new and incredible young women with beautiful and strong personalities. I am so grateful that I had the chance to work with them. After the final challenge I was so happy and proud that I was brave enough to try. So my only advice for you is to be brave because if you believe in yourself you can do anything.

I was always told that engineering was not the best choice for women in my country and that not a lot of opportunities might come my way. I was often made to believe that the decision I had made to pursue this career wasn’t exactly the best one but I could never come to terms with it. Picking engineering as a profession was never just a career choice for me, it was my way to break stereotypes, and to prove how women everywhere, were capable of achieving whatever they set their minds to.

During my years at the university, I experienced, a heavily male dominated environment, where I had to push myself extra hard to prove myself. I felt like I wasn’t ever going to get the recognition I deserve, and all my achievements would always be overshadowed my male fellow students. Hence, I was so reluctant to apply to the Female Engineers MOL Programme, thinking that it might not even make a big difference for me and perhaps, there was actually no hope for a career in the oil & gas industry for women.

However, I had never been more wrong. Applying for this programme proved to be the best decision I’ve ever made. Being at the finals for the Female Engineers MOL Programme, I was surrounded by nothing but empowered women trying to push each other to do their best and in that very moment, I realised, that I did in fact make the right choice. I learned that empowerment indeed comes from within, when women with similar goals, work together to achieve what they were told they couldn’t.

Since then I’ve had the opportunity to intern with MOL Pakistan and experience the industry in its full form. I can proudly and safely tell everyone to not fall for the stereotypes. As a woman, I’m sure now that there is nothing we can’t achieve and I owe a lot of it to the Female Engineers MOL Programme. I look forward to progressing in the Oil & Gas industry through MOL and similar experiences.

It all started when, on a rainy afternoon, I stumbled upon an advertisement of the MOL female engineering program. Which I subsequently ignored. A few days passed by, but the advertisement eventually came back to me. I looked further into it, and decided - as I had nothing to lose- to send in my CV. I was still in my first year of university, and it seemed absurd that, as a humble freshman, I would attain any success in such a competition. The first surprise came when I got into the finalists. The second was when I got to know the other contestants; all bright-eyed young women, each with the drive and motivation to change the world. The third surprise was the competition itself, and the jury's open and positive attitude towards us.

My story is an unconventional one, as compared to Hungarian fairy tales - where good things come in threes. For me, they would come in fours. This was supported by the competition itself; The contest was only supposed to have three victors, yet the jury decided to give me a reward for my efforts - alongside the three main winners. I would thus have a fourth surprise:
I would act as the tour guide in Budapest to one of my foreign competitors. Sharing the beautiful sights of the city with a new friend felt wonderful, and was a fantastic end to the competition.
I would like to thank the organizers for making this all possible, and I encourage you to try it out for yourself. There truly is nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

Female Engineers MOL ProgramMe is a very challenging, but definitely beneficial experience for a young woman who is interested in oil, gas and petrochemical industry. I encourage all the ladies to be brave enough to apply for this scholarship, because with this opportunity you will earn a lot of professional and teamwork related experience.

I personally could not believe I was chosen for the final event. I tried to bring out the best in me and it was worth all the efforts. Working in a multinational group was a new experience for me and I learned much from this challenge. I expanded my social circles, built relationships and made friends from Pakistan and Croatia.

As a chemical engineer student, this experience was very profitable for me. I could expand my CV with this achievement and I also had the opportunity to improve my communication skills in English which will be useful for future job interviews. I advise you ladies to apply for this programme and you will not be disappointed. Go for your dreams!

Having been given an opportunity to participate in such a competition gave me not only experience, but also new friendships and insights. Throughout the whole process I've proved to myself that if I set my mind on something I can do it: from application to elimination, I finally found myself standing in MOL HQ and couldn't feel anything but happiness and pride.

It was an honour to share a room with so many smart, kind and influential people, who did their best to welcome us and share their personal stories about the field they work in. The competition itself was quite challenging, all of the finalists worked hard to present the jury with their ideas and in that teamwork I learned a lot about others, but about myself as well - managing social, cognitive and thinking skills is hard at times, but pays off definitely!

In the end, it all comes down to how hard you are willing to work for something, how persistent you are and how much heart you put in it. This experience, no matter how hard, enriched me as a person and I couldn't be happier to have been a part of this project.

Dear new participant, never let anyone tell you that you can't do something! Female Engineers MOL ProgramMe benefitted me both professionally and personally – and it will benefit you even more! The selection process was interesting and quite challenging. Being part of final event was a great experience - I put a lot of effort in my preparation and you know how they say: the effort always pays off. Winning the scholarship, though unexpected, was a confirmation that you can achieve anything if you try hard enough. I would like to encourage all girls to dare to apply for the ProgramMe, because no matter how it ends, you are going home smarter, with more experience and maybe a new friend or two!

Empowerment is one of the most important things in the 21st century and I feel very honoured to be a part of MOL's initiative for promoting women's empowerment through gender diversity in the oil and gas industry.

My experience in FeMMe Scholarship Program has been one of a kind. Firstly, MOL gave us the chance to visit their Headquarters in Budapest, Hungary on a fully sponsored trip to the final round of FEMP Program. Along the road, I made new friends from different parts of the world, came across new cultures and made memories that will last forever. I have no words to describe the joyful moment in words when I won this competition and made my country, Pakistan proud on an international level!

From that moment onwards my life has changed a lot. I had the chance to work as an Intern at MOL Pakistan, MOL also gave me the opportunity to attend the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference in November 2017 and a scholarship of 5000 Euros to help me continue my studies.

I can never repay the exposure, grooming and professional experience that MOL has given me and I would like to encourage other girls to participate in FEMMe 2017 Program, because this is an amazing chance to be “The Energy of Positive Change!"

MOL Pakistan, as part of MOL Group, fully believes in gender equality and diversity and accordingly provides equal opportunity irrespective of gender or nationality. Following MOL Group guidelines, MOL Pakistan has made a history by inducting female engineers and geoscientist through competitive hiring process being posted at processing facility situated in KPK located in the close proximity of Pak-Afghan border.

From this great initiative, MOL as an organization has benefited in many ways. Their performance has been exceptionally good, they have won numerous international awards, and in fact played ambassador role for MOL Pakistan and MOL Group. On the one hand, they have helped the organization in building a cohesive team, creating inclusive climate/culture, reduced interpersonal bias/levels of conflict, helped in social engagement; on the other hand, it provides an opportunity to the organization to select from a much bigger talent pool. As a result, an engaged and cohesive workforce is developed that works as a catalyst in the organizational growth/journey to excellence.

Female engineers in oil industry often bring in a different, more balanced and calmer perspective. It is always very interesting and inspiring to meet women with good technical and economic thinking, which is often accompanied by great management talent and excellent leading skills. In Slovnaft, the culture of cooperation between the two genders is really high and female execution of a typically male position is always considered to be very positive. Gender diversity is part of our daily operation. Trust and acceptance depends on our performance and attitude, not on our gender.

Female engineers are important to MOL Group to prove that excellence, professionalism and high performance in the so popular term “man’s business” does not depend on the gender. They are leading the projects, planning budgets, developing people, showing creativity and initiative the same way and extent as male engineers do. In many cases they are performing above expectations, not because they are smarter or have better capabilities, but simply because they are setting higher standards towards perfectionism in order to prove the male – female equity.

I am a father of two sons and if I had a daughter, I would be very happy if she had equal opportunities to be a successful engineer if she was to choice. I think we should use the capabilities of half of the population better for the good of the companies and society. In my opinion, women will bring, on top of their professional excellence, diversity in leadership and improved dynamics of the working groups they belong to. I would very much welcome a more human leadership approach and I think female engineers would be able to improve our leadership. To support one of our values Diversity, we need to attract more female engineers to challenging technical and leadership roles and I am happy to say that we already have some good examples in our joint company in Croatia.

The scarcity of female engineering talent utilization is a major concern not just in Pakistan, but all over the world. We in MOL Pakistan believe that diverse workforce within a company strengthens it in all areas, including resilience, innovative capacity, higher level of dedication and improved financial performance. Besides all, it is otherwise a strong ethical case that everyone wants to be treated fairly and provided with equal opportunity for both genders. It is important to make our organization more representative of society, to create a better society. This approach is believed to bring a cultural change within the female students to study and pursue their careers in engineering. Accordingly, MOL Pakistan provides the opportunity to female engineers to come forward and join the Oil & Gas Industry.

We are lucky to be living in a new century when many of the things that were far from possible in the past have become an everyday occurrence.

Diversity of any kind is beneficial for those concerned. Nature teaches us that diversity is the only guarantee of long term balance, innovation and evolution.

We are happy to welcome female colleagues whose personal and professional contribution will be part of our international expert workforce that will take our Group even further forward and also honor all those individuals on whose legacy modern inclusion and diversity platforms are built.

From my current perspective of nonfuel manager, the position of women in the oil industry is exactly the same as it was from my earlier experience in classic FMCG retail.

Opportunities come and go depending on how well you excel, how hard you work and on your willingness to do better and continuously improve and learn.

Times are swiftly changing and gender is becoming less and less relevant. I am proud to say that Tifon is the best proof of that change. For years Tifon was led by powerful women, and I truly believe that I current leadership is made of best deserving people, not particularly men or women.

I really believe that MOL group stands behind its greatest value – people.