The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) on Monday commenced the second phase of its Overseas Scholarship Scheme (OSS) interviews, declaring that only candidates with the capacity to solve Nigeria’s energy challenges will scale through.
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At the Kaduna centre, where shortlisted PhD applicants appeared before expert panels on Monday, the Fund made it clear that academic excellence alone would not suffice, as research relevance to the oil and gas sector now takes priority.
Supervising the exercise, PTDF’s Head of Information Technology, Prof. Abdulkadir Hamidu Alkali, said the process followed a rigorous screening stage that involved verification of credentials and merit-based shortlisting.
He explained that the nationwide exercise is being held across six centres—Kaduna, Bauchi, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Enugu and Abuja—with virtual options available for candidates unable to attend physically.
According to him, the interviews are being conducted in phases, with MSc candidates attended to in the first week and PhD applicants in the second.
Alkali stressed that the scholarship scheme remains a strategic pipeline for developing high-level manpower for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, with a renewed focus on solution-driven research.
“For years, PTDF has sponsored scholars abroad to acquire knowledge and return home to contribute to national development,” he said.
He added that the Fund has introduced a transnational education model, enabling candidates to study partly in Nigeria and partly in the United Kingdom.
The initiative, he noted, is strengthening collaboration between Nigerian academics and their international counterparts while ensuring that research outputs address local industry needs.
A representative of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Dalhatu Yusuf Ibrahim, who monitored the exercise, described the process as transparent and equitable.
“They have taken us through the entire process—from application to shortlisting and interviews. The system guarantees fairness and reflects federal character,” he said.
Panel members also expressed confidence in the integrity of the selection process, noting that strict adherence to merit would produce the right candidates.
Dr. Alowolodu Olufunsho, an associate professor of cybersecurity at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, said while some candidates demonstrated strong technical depth, overall performance varied.
“We are looking for applicants who can contribute to knowledge and provide practical solutions, especially within the oil and gas sector,” she said.
Some candidates described the process as rigorous but engaging, with panels testing both theoretical knowledge and practical relevance of research proposals.
Muhammad Harun Najumari, a lecturer at the Federal University of Education, Zaria, said his research on using hybrid machine learning to predict faults in safety-critical equipment attracted keen interest from panelists.
Another candidate, Habiba Ummi Muhammed, said her work focuses on deploying biosurfactants from microorganisms to tackle oil spill challenges in Nigeria’s marine environment.
She described the interview as encouraging, noting that the panelists were professional and receptive.
Checks at the centre indicated that beyond academic records, PTDF is prioritising candidates whose research offers clear pathways to solving Nigeria’s pressing energy problems, underscoring a shift towards impact-driven scholarship.
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