- Over 5,000 applicants from across Nigeria have been shortlisted by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF)
- The shortlisted candidates are those who have met the criteria such as being graduates of an oil and gas undergraduate field
- External experts were also engaged to review the shortlisted applicants, after which the candidates will be interviewed
The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has shortlisted over 5,000 applicants from across Nigeria for scholarships in overseas schemes for the 2023/2024 academic session.
The PTDF scholarships aim to develop the oil and gas sector by training individuals who can contribute innovative ideas and acquire the necessary skills for the industry.
The Head of the Overseas Scholarship Scheme in the PTDF, Mrs Bolanle Kehinde-Agboola, made this announcement during the selection interview process for MSc and PhD candidates where 5000 were shortlisted.
What she said
According to her,
- “What is happening here today is the interview for the award of scholarship to Nigerians for the 2023/2024 academic session.
- “We have shortlisted over 5,000 applicants to partake in the exercise which is going on in the six geo-political zones.
- “The first criterion is that you must be a Nigerian. For the master’s programme, the applicant must be a student of any of the oil and gas fields like engineering, geology, computer sciences, environmental sciences and management.
- “You must have a minimum of second class upper in any of these fields for you to be qualified,’’ she said.
Kehinde-Agboola emphasized the agency’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of the selection process and mentioned the use of equipment to detect fake certificates. External experts were also engaged to review the shortlisted applicants, ensuring a fair and qualified interview process.
According to her,
- “We have had a situation where someone finished from a university with a third class in Nigeria and came with a first-class certificate from a foreign university that is fake.
- “We were able to detect such fake certificates, and because of that, we decided to take a further step to ratify the issue by ensuring that this selection runs with integrity and diligence.
- “This year, we have deployed some equipment that will help us to detect fake certificates.
She concluded that the exercise has been structured to efficiently deal with the high number of applicants and to satisfy federal character stipulations.
Upon completion of the interviews, successful candidates will be awarded the scholarships.
About the PTDF scholarships
The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), is a Federal Government agency with the mandate of developing indigenous human capacity and petroleum technology to meet the needs of the oil and gas industry.
The scholarships invite applications from suitably qualified candidates for the overseas MSc and PhD scholarships to specifically the United Kingdom, as well as through strategic partnerships in France, Germany, Malaysia, and China