PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
continually challenged to find creative engineering solutions to help his company improve performance or reduce costs for its conventional drilling and well serving operations. “My ability to respond creatively directly influences my productivity and competitiveness. And only competitive employees build competitive companies,” he notes. One way he’s developed his creative thinking skills is by taking an APEGA workshop called Constructive Curiosity, during which he learned new
upgrade his computer skills in areas such as 3D modelling and CAD programming. “Continual learning lets you to keep yourself in shape professionally, the same as sport activities keep us in shape physically,” he says. “I always try to follow my instincts to acquire and apply knowledge and simply do what I have to do in order to serve the public interest based on my experience, skills and judgement. I think it’s a reasonable goal to build my career on those principles.”
decision-making and issues analysis strategies. Of course, soft skills aren’t the only areas Mr. Bilkun is working on. He’s made it a priority over the course of his career to continually improve his technical skills, which he’s found to be increasingly important as the world moves towards greater automation. To this end, he completed a master’s degree in thermal physics from the National Technical University of Ukraine. As well, his job requires him to constantly
“My ability to respond creatively directly influences my productivity and competitiveness. And only competitive employees build competitive companies”
VLAD BILKUN, P.ENG.
JON NOAD, P.GEO. In university, field school helps geology students make the link between theories and real-life applications. The same holds true for professionals — no matter their level of experience. “When you get out into the field, it’s a huge opportunity to learn,” says Jon Noad, P.Geo. Because geology is such a visual and tactile science, fieldwork is a hands-on way to observe and understand what rocks are doing in the subsurface. “I’m a big believer that the more rocks you see, the better geologist you are,” Dr. Noad says.
Even with three decades of experience under his rock hammer, Dr. Noad is always keen to head into the field and further expand his knowledge. You might find him taking a workshop, like the one he took a couple years ago, examining sandstone outcrops in the Cardium Formation. “I have been applying those learnings ever since.” Or you might find him teaching a workshop, like the two- day session he offered in September. Participants travelled to Kananaskis and Canmore to examine shale outcrops in the Montney Formation. Even though he was the instructor, it was a learning experience for him, too.
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