The Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF, said that a total of 600 applicants in the South-South geo-political zone were screened for its 2024/2025 foreign scholarship scheme.
The fund explained that the overseas scholarship is to fill identified skill gaps in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
The General Manager, Projects of PTDF, Mrs Ifeoma Nwokike, stated this while answering questions from newsmen at the sidelines of the screening for the South-South geo-political zone held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Nwokike said the identified areas of focus are in tandem with the PTDF mandate to build capacity within the oil and gas industry, pointing out that selected candidates are sent to top universities abroad.
She said, “The essence of today is to take the best of Nigerians and train the best of Nigerians. We pride ourselves that the PTDF scholars are known everywhere in the world.’’
“We are sending them to top-class universities in the world, especially in the United Kingdom. A lot of them have achieved so much, even in the institutions where we send them. And that is why we take our time to select the very best.”
Mrs Nwokike listed the focus areas to include Engineering, Geo-Sciences, Environmental Studies and Renewable Energy, saying, “You know that renewable is the emerging field in the oil and gas industry. So we are also interested in that.”
The PTDF General Manager added, “We have about 600 candidates that we are interviewing for this centre in Port Harcourt. It is done in the six geo-political zones of the country simultaneously.”
On the number of students to be selected, she said it depends on the availability of funds, saying, “When we complete this exercise we look at our funding and we look at how much it will take for us to train one candidate then we now determine how many we are going to pick this year.”
Speaking on the criteria for selecting the applicants, The Team Lead of the Overseas Scholarship Interview Programme at the Port Harcourt Centre, Ere Iyalla, said, “First we look at your credentials, how good you have scored in your undergraduate and WAEC levels.
“And then we look at your research proposal for your statement of purpose. How it fits into the needs of the industry and then we look at your professional membership because that gives you close to practice to access you.”
Iyalla further said, “In the 1selection process there is a portal where candidates are required to indicate where they want to have their interview based on their closeness or preference.
“So you have the option to select where you want to take or have your interview for convenience. The candidates are a combination of MSc and PhD.”
“Apples Bite” reports that the screening, which began on Monday, May 20th at the Institute of Petroleum and Energy Studies, University of Port Harcourt, is expected to end on Thursday, May 23rd, 2024.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
