Singapore, March 15 -- The National University of Singapore (NUS), TOTAL S.A. and TOTAL Oil Asia-Pacific today announced that they will collaborate in education and projects through TOTAL's Regional Education Partnership. The three-year partnership will benefit students, faculty members, researchers and industry professionals.

Under this partnership, students and faculty members from NUS will have the opportunity to participate in TOTAL's University events. TOTAL will also provide internship opportunities among the various TOTAL offices in the Asia Pacific region for NUS students who are in the third or final year of studies. Students will be invited to participate in the TOTAL online gaming contests, which aim to familiarise students with energy issues.

NUS and TOTAL will also examine the possible areas of collaboration in areas linked to TOTAL in Oil & Gas, Chemicals and New Energies. NUS will conduct executive training programs for TOTAL employees, while NUS faculty members will be invited to attend the TOTAL Energy and Education Seminar. TOTAL executives will also participate in courses, presentations, case study projects and forums which are organized by NUS.

TOTAL will also participate in NUS career fairs to strengthen students' understanding of its business. TOTAL may propose some site visits for NUS faculty members and students to develop stronger exchange between the industry and University.

NUS Vice-Provost (Education) Professor Tan Thiam Soon said: "Our partnership with TOTAL started way back in 2008 through the TOTAL Summer School program where NUS students get the opportunity to experience a week-long program in Paris, where undergraduates from all over the world are invited to discuss key energy issues and challenges of the Oil & Gas industry with energy industry experts. This new partnership is a natural extension of our collaboration with TOTAL. We are very excited to work with TOTAL to enrich our students' educational experience and also to enhance our research capabilities in Geosciences and Engineering through joint projects and scientific exchange."

TOTAL Education General Manager, Mr Luc Sposito said: "This partnership is the result of a collaboration initialized years ago. Our aim is to consolidate our relationship with the key universities of Asia such as NUS. One of our main targets is to deepen the localization of our business and of our social actions, by contributing to the High Education process, as an industrial Company. This global agreement will allow the scope widening of the actions and its application on the field."

To mark the start of this new collaboration, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Professor Tan Thiam Soon; Mr Luc Sposito, General Manager of Education, Total S.A.; and Ms Helen Luo, Vice President for Human Resources, Total Oil Asia-Pacific.

Copyright 2012 Singapore Government News, distributed by Contify.com. All Rights Reserved.

(Originally published March 15, 2012, in Singapore Government News.)