Community Outreach
As a science and technology based company, we've adopted education as a key theme of our community outreach, which is composed of several initiatives: Schlumberger Excellence in Educational Development (SEED), the Schlumberger Foundation, and Local Initiatives undertaken by our GeoMarkets as well as employees on their own time.
Passion for learning
SEED is a volunteer-based, non-profit education program focused on underserved communities where Schlumberger people live and work. SEED empowers over 3,000 employee-volunteers and educators—including teachers, parents and other mentors—to share their passion for learning and science with students aged 10-18. The SEED learning-while-doing (LWD) methodology draws on the technology and science expertise of our volunteers to engage students in global issues, such as water, energy and climate change.
Foundation for success
A second set of outreach programs is enabled through the Schlumberger Foundation, a non-profit entity that provides grants to external organizations, cofunds eligible GeoMarket outreach programs, and operates its own programs, generally through partnerships. Among its initiatives are: Faculty for the Future to support women in pursuing academic careers in science and technology; the Africa Science Program to create opportunities in advancing research capacity in African institutions; the United World Colleges Scholarship Program to provide scholarships to talented students in developing countries interested in the sciences; and Lab in a Lorry which offers students hands-on experiments and interaction with volunteers using mobile science laboratories.
Catalyzing local initiative
Our staff around the world often initiate local projects themselves. In Chad, for example, funding from the GeoMarket and the Schlumberger Foundation is helping to improve the infrastructure at a school started by a local Schlumberger employee.
Local initiative by managers and employees also helped to direct our response to the December 2004 tsunami and October 2005 earthquake that hit Asia. A disaster reconstruction fund was created to contribute to reconstruction and recovery. To date, 12 projects-each driven by our employees-have been supported in partnership with organizations on the ground. Additionally, financial support is given to employees who have relevant technical skills to contribute through short-term volunteering assignments.
Strong ownership within the GeoMarket is critical to the success of any local undertaking.
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