The Vice Chancellor of the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Prof Blessing Didia says he is excited on the commencement of the Post graduate programme in Marine and Offshore Engineering in the institution and described such as one of the huge achievements by his administration.
The RSU Vice Chancellor states this when he received in audience a delegation of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in his office in Port Harcourt, recently.
Didia promised that the management of the institution would partner with SPDC to ensure that the programme succeed in its objective, adding that the target of the post graduate programme was to produce trained graduates, meet the increasing demand for qualified personnel in the oil and gas industry.
The vice chancellor however warned lecturers handling the progreamme to be up and doing, adding that the management would not condone any form of compromise in the stardard of the prorgamme.
Earlier in his speech, the Director of the programme Dr Ibiba Emmanuel said the visit was to formally introduce the staff and pioneer students of the Center of Excellence in Marine and Offshore to the Vice Chancellor and lauded the management of RSU for ensuring that the programme commenced.
He told the VC that a total number of 44 students applied and out of which 10 students with CGPA of 3.8 in Marine Engineering were admitted, adding that the programme will run for 18 months.
According to him, the idea of establishing the centre was conceived when the university received 120 specialised Marine and Offshore Engineering books and Modern Aydrodynamics laboratory equipment from SPDC in 2007. “Let it be on record that this would not have been possible if not for the intervention of the Vice Chancellor, you are pragmatic leader”, he stated.