updated April 2008

Schlumberger Excellence in Educational Development (SEED) is a global non-profit education program that serves students aged 10-18. SEED has grown out of the spirit of goodwill and close ties between Schlumberger people and the communities where they live and work.

SEED began in 1998 as a way for Schlumberger employees, spouses and retirees to share their time, experience and passion for learning and science through a variety of volunteer activities with younger generations of learners.

SEED provides access to technological and knowledge resources for underserved students and teachers in communities where Schlumberger people live and work. These include a range of project-based activities provided through an extensive multilingual website, hands-on science education workshops, and collaborative international projects. In these ways, SEED is building a learning community that creates connections among youth around the world and expands their understanding of science. In addition, the SEED Action Fund provides financing to young people for local initiatives addressing sustainability issues in their communities, for example in relation to water and energy.

SEED plans and carries out activities through three integrated programs:

The School Network Program invites qualified underserved schools to apply for funding that supports three goals:

• Infrastructure: Providing technical and financial support to connect underserved educational organizations to the Internet;
• Collaboration: Facilitating opportunities to participate in projects, events and partnerships with other educational organizations;
• Sustainability: Helping schools ensure continuity of the program after the initial grant.

Educational Programs offer students and teachers in SEED network schools specialized firsthand and online learning experiences using a project-based approach. These experiences address a variety of themes related to science and technology in the form of intensive hands-on workshops and collaborative projects that create a global community of learners from different countries. Working in teams or individually, participants perform research and communicate information and ideas in ways that build understanding and innovative thinking as well as curiosity and respect.

The Online Science Center offers a wide range of educational resources and opportunities to learners and their teachers in seven languages–Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. It gives students direct access to publicly available science-related activities, first-person stories, articles, problem challenges, and to SEED Experts, a corps of Schlumberger scientists, engineers and mentors who answer questions and provide project guidance.

SEED—An Expression of Service and Spirit

SEED is a proud and integral expression of the global Schlumberger service culture. It taps into the passion of Schlumberger people for science and learning, and encourages them to make personal contributions to the greater good. In this way, thanks to our dedicated Schlumberger volunteers, SEED serves the higher purpose of making connections and fostering understanding among the world’s diverse individuals and communities.

Photos by Mark Tuschman

SEED Facts (as of April 30, 2008)

Educational Programs

SEED Website and Online Science Center

School Network Program

Volunteers

The latest SEED fact sheet is available (pdf format) in Arabic, Bahasa, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese.

For more information, contact SEED.