Oritsegbubemi Omatseyin
Lagos — The Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF, is deepening international partnerships to strengthen the Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Skills Knowledge, CPESK, and expand Nigeria’s energy capacity, following a high-level visit to Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, UTP, Malaysia, by a delegation led by Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.
The delegation included the Executive Secretary of PTDF, Mr. Ahmed Galadima Aminu, the Director of the NNPC Learning Academy, Mrs. Folashade Adekeye, and other senior officials.
The team was received by UTP management led by the Provost, Prof. Dr. Benjamin Colin Cosh, who commended the existing partnership and expressed UTP’s readiness to expand programme offerings at CPESK. He reaffirmed the University’s commitment to academic excellence, institutional development, and industry-driven education.
PTDF Executive Secretary, Mr. Ahmed Aminu Galadimoh, said the collaboration will prioritise skills development, advanced energy research and globally benchmarked CPESK programmes, positioning the Centre as a hub for world-class energy education and research.
A major reason for the visit was to deepen collaboration in areas such as institutional systems, postgraduate education, career progression frameworks, continuing professional development, and talent management for Nigeria’s energy sector.
The visit also provided an opportunity to benchmark Malaysia’s educational and institutional best practices and explore their adaptation to PTDF’s purpose-built institution, CPESK.
Speaking during the visit, the Minister emphasized that Nigeria’s scholars represent the future of the energy sector, reaffirming the Federal Government’s commitment to investing in human capital through strategic international partnerships.
The Executive Secretary of PTDF noted that the Fund aims to strengthen collaboration with PETRONAS and Malaysian institutions in training delivery, research, and technology transfer.
The visit further reaffirmed the strong bilateral ties between Nigeria and Malaysia and highlighted PTDF’s commitment to developing world-class institutions through global partnerships.
As part of the broader engagement in Malaysia, the delegation also made a strategic stop at another leading Malaysian university – Universiti Malaya to further explore collaborative opportunities that will support the expansion of academic programmes, research capacity, and institutional development at CPESK.
