PTDF screens 200 South-South candidates for 2025/2026 foreign postgraduate scholarship

The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has begun screening 200 candidates from the South-South region for its 2025/2026 overseas postgraduate scholarship programme.

Mr Ere Iyalla, Team Lead of the Overseas Scholarship Interview Programme at the Port Harcourt centre, disclosed this to journalists on Wednesday.

He spoke during the Ph.D interview session held at the Petroleum Trust Fund Skills and Training Centre, Omagwa, Rivers.

Iyalla said the programme aligned with the Federal Government’s agenda to develop local content in the oil and gas sector.

“Our goal is to build human and institutional capacities that will enable Nigerians to participate actively in the oil and gas industry,

“We received 200 applications in Port Harcourt, and the selection process involves evaluating candidates’ academic credentials, research proposals, and professional experience.

“The disciplines covered include geo-sciences, engineering, management, computing, and environmental sciences,” he said.

Iyalla mentioned that PTDF had trained over 16,000 Nigerians abroad through its overseas scholarship programme, noting that the impact had been felt in the oil and gas industry.

According to him, the programme is a split-site Ph.D programme for candidates going to the UK, where part of the programme would be done in Nigeria and part in the UK.

“This is aimed at retaining value in the country and leveraging global academic and industry best practices,” he said.

Iyalla assured that the programme was transparent and that the outcome would be based on merit.

“We leverage on information technology to ensure that the products of this exercise are the best.

“Every result is submitted to a central database, and you cannot alter it once it’s submitted,” he explained.

According to him, the PTDF has partnerships with universities in the UK, Germany, France, and Malaysia, ssying that the scholarship programme was designed to meet the current and future needs of the oil and gas industry globally.

Similarly, Prof. Sunday Ikiensikimama, Director of the Institute of Petroleum and Energy Studies, University of Port Harcourt, said that the interview process had been smooth and efficient.

Ikiensikimama expressed satisfaction with the responses from the candidates, noting that most of them were expressive and able to articulate their research interests.

The professor noted that the PTDF had made significant improvements in the interview process, including the use of a new center building that had made the process more comfortable for the panelists.

He also mentioned that the panel might make recommendations to improve the system further.

Dr Hassan Bashir, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Bayero University, said that the  performance of candidates had been satisfactory, with noticeable improvement compared to previous years.

Bashir, one of the panelists under the computing group, said that the assessment results were real-time, but were  not the overall results, as candidates from different regions would be ranked together for the final selection.

“It’s a pre-screening, so they will go through the final process after, at the end,” he explained.

He expressed optimism that the scholarship programme would yield positive results, improving the nation’s research quality and industrial production.

Another candidate, Sharon January, an  environment law specialist, described the application and interview process as “simple” and “interesting.”

She commended PTDF for the friendliness and the opportunity to discuss her research proposal.

January said that her research proposal focused on corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) accountability and the right to a sustainable environment in Niger Delta region.

“I propose the establishment of an ESG body with an ESG Act to promote sustainable development and prevent environmental degradation,

“This will help address the scattered laws and numerous litigations concerning environmental issues in the Niger Delta,” she said.

January commended the federal government’s efforts towards youth empowerment, emphasising the need for more expertise and passion in governance.