The University of
Port Harcourt has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with FMC Technologies to establish what would be Africa’s first sub-sea Engineering Programme in the Institution.
This followed about four months of negotiation between authorities of the university and the American-Based Engineering Company, which culminated in the signing of the MoU, last week.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Joseph Ajienka described the event as a major milestone for both the institution and the oil and Gas Industry in Nigeria.
While expressing delight over the collaboration, which, he said, has led to the establishment of the first sub-sea engineering programme in the school, he noted that the partnership would be invaluable.
“We are indeed very happy to enter into this important partnership. Given the facilities and experience of FMC, we are confident that this partnership would add tremendous value”, he said.
He assured the firm that the university will be committed towards realising the purpose for which the partnership was conceived.
Earlier in his speech, the project manager of FMC Technologist Limited, Michael Hunt expressed the company’s pride to be associated with the university on the project, noting that the institution was well-positioned to commence the programme along established global best practice.
“FMC is an experienced company in sub-sea Engineering in the world, and this university is well positioned to create robust sub-sea training in Nigeria and for the rest of Africa. We are very happy to be working together in this regard, and we can guarantee you quality service delivery”, he said.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Director of the Offshore Technical Institute (OTI) in the institute of petroleum strides, Professor John Okoli, confirmed that the programme, has the capacity to cover the entire Africa”.
As part of the agreement, the programme would identify competency gaps and train qualified engineers that would provide world-class engineering services to support subsisting and future projects in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry.
It would also bridge technical gaps through the commencement of a Joint Master of Science Degree and Certificate programme in sub-sea Engineering in the university.
The Tide gathered that plans to commence programme started in November 2014, following an   exploratory meeting between the two partnering organisations.