PTDF shortlists 8,800 candidates for overseas scholarship

The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has shortlisted 8,800 candidates out of over 26,000 applicants for the 2022/2023 Overseas Scholarship Scheme (OSS).

The OSS is an annual programme by the PTDF that awards scholarships to Nigerians for MSc and PhD studies in partner universities in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China and Malaysia.

Speaking on the process for the 2022/2023 selection, Bello Mustapha, Manager for the OSS scheme, said the process which started in December 2021 would see the shortlisted candidates interviewed across centres in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kaduna and Bauchi.

He said: “Over 26,000 people applied for the scholarship and over 8,000 were selected to come and do the interviews.

“We conduct the interviews in the six geopolitical zones of the country but we are doing in five geopolitical zones of the country this year because of the issues of insecurity in the Southeast.”

Mustapha explained that candidates in the Southeast have been advised to pick centres outside the region to enable them participate in the interview process.

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“We sent them mails to choose any centre. In all the geopolitical zones we have, you can actually choose any centre that you want. You may be in the South East and you decide to come and do it in Abuja, or you can even go to Bauchi,” he added.

Mustapha said at the end of their training overseas, the scholars were expected to return to the country to contribute their skills and expertise in the petroleum industry and the Nigerian economy in general.

He said the PTDF had been sponsoring candidates over the years and some of them were in big companies like Shell and NNPC, noting that it was a worthwhile scheme.

One of the participants, David Amos, said the scholarship was a promising one as it was aimed at developing human capacity and national development, promising to return and contribute to the country if selected.

Another participant, Chukwu Sylvester, who intends to study Maritime Engineering Science in the UK, said he would bring his maritime skills to bear in the oil and gas sector if selected.

Amina Abdullahi, looking to do a master’s degree in Oil and Gas Accounting and Finance in the UK, said it would be an opportunity to increase her expertise in the field and return to contribute to the growth of the oil and gas industry.