The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has called on qualified Nigerians to take advantage of its overseas scholarship scheme to study in prestigious universities in the United Kingdom for Master’s and Doctorate degrees. A statement from PTDF says application process has already commenced with the invitation of qualified candidates to apply through PTDF to specific programmes at some institutions in the United Kingdom. The institutions include Imperial College London, University College London, Kings College London, University of Birmingham, University of Nottingham, University of Southampton, Newcastle University and the University of Manchester. Others are University of Liverpool, Cranfield University, Robert Gordon University, Heriot-Watt University, University of Salford, Portsmouth University, and the University of Dundee. According to the general manager, Education and Training Department, PTDF, Ahmed Galadima Aminu, masters’ degree applicant will undergo an aptitude test while PhD candidates will be interviewed. He said: “There will be no aptitude test for the MSc’s but for PhD candidates we still have the interviews. We now use the credentials of the applicants to assess them. If you have a first or second upper, you have a grading for that.” Speaking on how to fill the application form which is obtainable at the agencies website, he said, “We will also ask you to state the reason why you want to study the programme, after that we will ask you to submit your transcript which will be verified from the school. For the scratch card, there is no more use of scratch card, just go to the application website, click and it will provide you with the PIN number and you use the PIN number to apply”. He added that, the scholarship which is for the 2018/2019 academic session is highly competitive and only outstanding candidates who meet the selection criteria and other requirements will be awarded the scholarship. The candidates include academic merit evidenced by the quality of degrees(preferably second class upper 2.1), full academic transcripts and other professional qualifications, relevant publications (for PhD applicants) membership of Professional bodies, and the viability of the study, research plan. PTDF has also introduced a new criterion requiring applicants to make a case for their scholarship by submitting a statement of purpose stating why they want to undertake the study, the relevance of the proposed study to the oil and gas industry and its expected impact on national development. The full list of courses for the scholarship awards can be accessed on the PTDF website www.ptdf.gov.ng

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