Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), has disclosed that about 600 candidates were screened from Nigeria’s South-South for the 2024 Post Graduate Scholarship in top choice universities abroad.
The Fund also said it is focusing on training awardees in renewable energies, especially, compressed natural gas (CNG), and other areas of gap.
The General Manager in charge of Projects, PTDF, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwokike, disclosed this to journalists on the sidelines of the screening for the South-South geo-political zone held at the Institute of Petroleum and Energy Studies, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday.
She explained that the foreign overseas scheme is aimed at bridging identified skills gaps in line with its mandate to build capacity within the oil and gas industry.
According to her, the successful candidates would be sent to top universities abroad particularly in the United Kingdom, adding PTDF trains the best of Nigerians, and the scholars are known globally.
She said: “We are sending them to top class Universities, and they go there. 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.”
When we complete this exercise, we will 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.
Ms. Nwokike listed the areas of gaps as Engineering, Geo-Sciences, Environmental Studies, and Renewables.
“You know that renewables are an emerging field in the oil and gas industry. So, we are also interested in all those ones. 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,” she said.
She noted that the number of scholars eventually selected would depend on the funds available, saying: “When we complete this exercise, we will 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.”
On the criteria used for the screening, the Team Lead, Overseas Scholarship Interview Programme, Port Harcourt Centre, Ere Iyalla, said: “First, we look at your credentials, how good we have scored in your undergraduate and WAEC levels.
“And then we look at your research proposal for your statement of purpose and how it fits into the needs of the industry, and then we look at your professional membership.”
