PTDF Overseas Scholarship Scheme For Nigerians – 2020/2021
The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), invites applications from suitably qualified candidates for Overseas MSc and PhD Scholarships to institutions under its strategic partnership initiative. Successful candidates will be awarded scholarships to study in France/Germany/China/Malaysia.
The award includes the provision of flight tickets, payment of health insurance, payment of tuition and bench fees (where applicable) as well as the provision of allowances to meet the costs of accommodation and living expenses. The programmes will also include language classes to aid scholars to settle into their new environments (where applicable).
Requirements
MSc
- A minimum of Second Class Upper (2.1) qualification in their first degree or a Second Class Lower (2.2) with relevant industry experience
- Must have completed the mandatory National Youth Service (NYSC)
- Must be computer literate
- Possession of 5 O/level credits including English Language.
PhD
- Must have completed the mandatory National Youth Service (NYSC)
- Must be computer literate
- A minimum of Second Class Lower (2.2) in their first degree and a good second-degree certificate;
- Must submit a research proposal relevant to the oil and gas industry (of not more than 5 pages) to include: Topic, introduction, objective, methodology and mode of data collection (sample template of the proposal is available on the scholarship portal (scholarship.ptdf.gov.ng);
- Applicants must also include their master’s degree project
How To Apply
Application Forms can be obtained on the scholarship portal (scholarship.ptdf.gov.ng).
Required Documents
Applicants are advised to scan copies of the following documents and attach to their online application forms:
- First Degree Certificate or Statement of Result
- NYSC discharge certificate
- WAEC/GCE/SSCE/NECO results as well as the PIN numbers on the application forms to enable PTDF view the O’level results on the relevant website).
- Recent Passport Photograph
- Local Government Identification Letter
- Master’s Degree Certificate (PhD Applicants only)
- Evidence of membership of professional associations
Selection Process, Criteria & Requirements
PTDF scholarships are highly competitive and only applicants who are outstanding across board are selected. A selection committee will be constituted to assess applications using the following criteria;
- Academic merit as evidenced by quality of degrees, full academic transcripts, other professional qualifications acquired, and relevant publications to be referenced by applicants
- Membership of professional bodies
- The viability of the study/research plan (PhD Applicants only).
- Applicants are required to make a case for their scholarship by submitting a statement of purpose (maximum 500 words) stating the reason(s) they want to undertake the study, the relevance of the proposed study to the oil & gas industry and its expected impact on national development (MSc Applicants only).
NOTE:
- Applicants must have a National Identity Number (NIN) before applying for the scholarship. Applicants are also expected to upload a NIN Verification Report before completing the application. The report can be obtained from www.verifyme.ng (charges may apply).
- Ongoing PhD Applicants could only apply provided their Universities are among the PTDF Partnership Universities as listed above;
- Applicants who have benefitted from any of the PTDF scholarships in the past cannot apply for the same category of degree, except a higher degree;
- Applicants who are in possession of a higher degree cannot apply for the same type of degree;
- Applicants interested in German Institutions should choose Abuja as their preferred interview location;
- Applicants who are beneficiaries of any other scholarship need not apply;
- Applicants who successfully scale through the first round of screening will be requested to submit their transcripts; all applicants are therefore advised to prepare their transcripts for submission in anticipation of such a request.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS IS Six (6) WEEKS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION.
Signed
Management
2020 Agnes Paykel Scholarship At University Of Auckland, New Zealand
Are you an International student willing to study in New Zealand? The University Of Auckland, New Zealand is offering the Agnes Paykel Scholarship to high achieving applicants who are willing to undergo a degree program at the Institution.
The main purpose of the Scholarship is to support a full-time doctoral student in the Liggins Institute engaged in basic or clinical research.
2020 OTS South Africa Programme At VU University Amsterdam – Netherlands
The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is collaborating with OTS to attract Individuals to study for a degree program at the Institution. We encourage South African students to apply for the combined OTS/VUFP South Africa scholarship programme.
The VUFP/OTS South Africa scholarship is for talented, motivated South African students who need financial support to study at VU Adam. The VUFP/OTS South Africa scholarship covers the tuition fees. It does not provide any additional allowance towards study or living costs.
International Leadership Scholarship At Murray State University, USA 2020
The Murray State University USA is offering the International Leadership Scholarship for students willing to undergo a degree program at the Institution. Great News! These scholarships provide a variety of academic, athletic, and service-based scholarship award opportunities to both domestic and international students.
Full tuition International Diversity Scholarship At Maryville College, USA 2020
Maryville College offers one full-tuition scholarship to an incoming freshman each academic year. This scholarship is our most prestigious scholarship for international students.
It will cover the full cost of tuition for each academic year and is renewable up to four years provided that the student meets the appropriate requirements (maintains F-1 student status, completes two hours of service per week with the Center for International Education Cultural Ambassadors Program, and maintains a minimum 3.0 GPA.)
Sterling Bank gets PETAN’s recognition
Sterling Bank Plc says it won the Local Content Bank of the Year 2019 Award of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria in recognition of its outstanding contribution to the growth of indigenous companies in the oil and gas industry.
A statement said, PETAN is an association of indigenous technical oilfield service companies operating in the upstream and downstream sectors of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
Nigeria Banks recorded N42.76tn e-transactions in Q3
A total volume of 800.2 million transactions valued at N42.76tn were recorded in the third quarter of 2019, as data on electronic payment channels in the Nigeria banking sector revealed.
The National Bureau of Statistics disclosed in its selected banking sector data: Sectoral breakdown of credit,e-payment channels and staff strength’s report for third quarter of 2019.
Reasons Why banks stopped funding ship acquisition in Nigeria
THERE are indications that banks have stopped financing ship acquisition in Nigeria following underhand dealings leading to their loss of funds to bad loans in previous deals.
Vanguard Maritime Report gathered that banks were willing to give loans for ship acquisition in the past until some shipping operators devised a means of using the loans to get old refurbished ships at far less than the amount collected from the banks and afterwards, abandoned such ships on the grounds that they were serviceable.
.Com vs .Net SEO – What is The Difference?
Choosing the right Internet domain extension is as important as choosing the name of your child or your first pet. Not only the extension should be relevant to your nature of the business, but also it has to be SEO-friendly. .NET and .COM are the two most popular browser extensions available on the Internet. Both of them have their own share of pros and cons when it comes to SEO rankings.
You must understand the difference between these two domain extensions in terms of SEO before getting your domain name. Give this blog a read to choose the right browser extension to boost your website’s search engine rankings 10X faster. 
Google algorithm consists of 200 ranking factors and the domain name is one of them. In fact, TLD or top-level domains still play a huge role in moving websites up in the rankings. Your domain name & extension are the virtual representation of your online business. The more specific it is, the better it will be for your online reputation.
The wrong extension can rip your online business apart and prevent it from ranking ever again. Therefore, it is crucial to understand to identify the difference between .COM and .NET to choose the perfect domain extension for your website.
.COM v/s .NET SEO: 4 Differences That Every Digital Marketer Must Know
Before you take a look at the differences below, I would suggest you click here to know the basics regarding domain names, sub-domains, types of domain names, TLDs, etc. Once you get cleared with the basic information, it will be way easier for you to have a solid grip on the differences between .COM and .NET SEO. Let’s begin then.
1. Purpose
The purpose of your domain name extension is probably the first thing search engines usually notice about a website URL. According to SEO algorithms, the purpose of your website should be clearly conveyed through your domain extension. You should not mislead your target audience no matter what. Google and other search engines want people to find exactly what they are looking for. Thus, it is important for you to understand the real purpose of a .COM and .NET domain. Let’s have a look. 
.COM
This domain extension represents commercial domain names. Whenever your target audience will see .COM at the end of your domain name, they will assume your website to a commercial business website. Initially, .COM meant a website that can make money online. Things have changed now. These days, .COM is a sign of reliability and it can include anything apart from personal websites, blogs, buying guides, portfolios, etc.
.NET
.NET in the domain name suggests that your website has something to do with network, email and Internet. It was originally developed for companies that had everything to do with networking technology. Therefore, when your target audience sees the .NET domain extension, they assume your business to be a network service provider or other infrastructure companies.
2. Popularity
All of us have used Google.com. We use it every day. If we change Google’s extension to .net, which one would you like to trust more? You may like to choose the one that is more popular among people, right? That’s the thing about online reputation. You need to figure out the popularity of your domain extension in regards to your nature of business. 
Say you own an online clothing store and most of your competitors have a .COM domain. Therefore, you must look for the same. If you own an Internet provider website and your competitors seem to use .NET, then you should consider using the same. More the popularity of your domain extension, the easier it is to gain the trust of your target clients.
.COM
As far as popularity is concerned, almost 50% of all websites use .COM domain extension. Other sources reveal that 75% of websites in the United States consist of this domain extension. All in all, .COM is definitely the most popular domain extension available in the digital realm. From fashion to e-commerce providers, this domain extension encompasses a whole lot of businesses. Therefore, people tend to trust .COM websites way more than any other domain extensions.
.NET
Sources indicate that among 13.8 million domain name registrations, .NET holds the fifth position Worldwide. It’s a fact that .COM is the most popular domain extension as compared to .NET. But, that doesn’t rule out the importance of .NET. Take www.realestate.net, for example. It is one of the highest-paid .net domains that got sold in February 2007.
As I mentioned earlier, the purpose of your website matters here. If you think .net would serve the purpose of your online business, go ahead. .net can also come in handy if the .com extension is not available for your domain name.
3. Branding
Did you know your domain extension is also responsible for building your brand? Remember that the website is the building block of your online reputation. And it starts with the URL since that is what your target audience will remember when they find you online. Your users may share your website URL with their friends and followers on social media. Also, Google also has an affinity for brands. Thus, you must choose a domain extension that will enhance your brand image to rank in the search engine results page.
.COM
.COM is the most familiar top-level domains in the digital world. By default, Google is usually biased towards the websites which have a .com TLD. This is mainly due to the cognitive fluency related to this domain extension. Users find .COM websites more reliable, easy to use and clickable. Eventually, it improves the brand image for your business, along with an increase in the traffic.
The branding may start with just one share. Once it wins over the trust of your target audience, you may not be able to keep track of the number of visitors on your website every day.
.NET
Domain name extensions are like doorways to a wonderful online presence. What if you could not get hold of your desired domain name and extension? What if you want to go with the .net extension for your website? .COM is the dominant extension when it comes to SEO.
However, you can beat a .COM website and create an even stronger branding for your .net website only with the help of proper branding techniques. Use a memorable and target specific domain name along with keywords and you can improve the branding of your website without the use of a .COM extension.
4. Authority
Have you heard of the EAT factor in SEO? This factor talks about the expertise, authority and trust related to a website. You should not only consider these factors while creating content but also while choosing the domain extension. Your domain extension should be authoritative enough to grab the attention of your target audience, leading them to click on your website URL. This is how you improve the rate of web traffic on your website and enhance your online presence.
.COM
Search engines rely on daily human interaction on the Web. The bots take each action of the users into consideration to bring forth the best results for them on the search engine results page. Search engines have found out that most of the people tend to click on websites with .COM domain extension. Therefore, they consider the .COM extension to be more authoritative than the rest of the domain extensions. For example, www.myassignmenthelp.com is more likely to have more authority than www.myassignmenthelp.co.uk since the users are more likely to type the former.
Unfortunately, .NET domains are not always considered an authority website. But, you can always change the notion by using quality contents, credible information and smooth user-interface in the website. The fact is .COM domains are more powerful and dominant. Along with the popularity, there has also been a rise in spam contents in most of the .COM websites.
That is your opportunity to beat all odds and drive maximum traffic to your .NET website. Do not leave any stone unturned to decrease the bounce rate of your website since that will enhance your search engine rankings automatically.
These are the four main differences between .COM and .NET domain extensions in terms of SEO.
.COM or .NET: Which Is Better?
When choosing between a number of available domain options, one can choose between .gov, .org, .edu, .net or .com depending upon the nature of their business. However, when it comes to specifically choosing between a .COM and a .NET domain, it’s advisable to opt for the former. Why, you ask? There are a lot of od reasons for choosing .COM not just over .NET but every other type of domain. Let’s have a look at those reasons:
Ø Today, a majority of people would first start searching for your business by typing [your business name].com, unless of course, your actual extension is in your business name. The reason, .COMs are more common than anything other domain.
Ø .COMs have the most clout with Google and keyword rankings as they serve as a great SEO fodder just like high-quality content or link building or the speed of the website.
Ø .COM is one such domain extension that helps with “brandability”. That’s because .com is one of the most popular domains these days. It looks more authoritative and is more popular than .net or any other available option.
Ø As a matter of fact, .COM domains rank better than any of their counterparts. As a result, when your target audience becomes more familiar with your .com domain, it paves your website’s path to a higher rank online.
.COM is considered one of the best domain extensions as compared to the other top-level domains.
Disadvantages Of Opting For .COM Domain Extension
There are certain limitations regarding its usage:
Ø Everyone tends to register.COM domain along with their domain name, and therefore the extension may not be available to everyone. So, a person may have a hard time searching for such a domain and may even end up paying more than the expected amount to get one. That is when you can consider the .NET extension. Get the technical factors of SEO right, and there’s nothing stopping you from gaining the #1 rank on the SERPs even with a .NET website.
Ø The other disadvantage of .COM domain extensions are that this type of domain is mainly used for commercial purposes. So not every website can use a .COM extension. That’s because if the website name doesn’t go with the extension, it’s SEO ranking may get affected.
Choosing that perfect domain extension is a struggle for real!
How To Choose The Right Domain Extension For Your Website?
This section is especially meant for the newcomers who are planning to get a new website for their online businesses. I don’t want you all to make a wrong decision in an attempt to grab the .COM domain extensions. There’s a time for everything. Take a look at the tips given below and choose the right domain extension for your website.
Ø Country specific TLD
Say you want to target a specific geographical location (United Kingdom) for your business. Thus, your domain extension could be www.domainname.co.uk. In that case, choosing a country-specific TLD may be a good idea. However, this may not be a great idea if you have further plans for expanding your business internationally.
Ø Product-specific domain extensions
You can also consider choosing a domain extension that is specific to your niche of business. Say you run a bike selling business. Thus, you can choose a domain extension such as ‘.bike’. When you pick a domain extension similar to the niche of your business, it becomes easy to remember and fits well with your brand as well.
Ø Price is not the primary factor
You may not get inexpensive domain extensions all the time. Also, cheap domain extensions do not mean that it will work well with SEO strategies. Therefore, you got to make sure that the domain extension has a credible reputation and is not associated with spammers. Never ever fall for the price while choosing your domain extensions.
Wrapping Up,
Your domain extension surely has a part to play in SEO. The right extension can make all the difference in your website’s rankings. At the same time, user-experience, content quality and website design also affect the SEO of a company. Do not panic if the domain extension of your choice is not available. Focus on other SEO factors to build a strong online presence.
Author Bio:
Alley John is an independent digital marketer in Australia. He also provides assignment help to students at Assignmenthelp.com.sg in his spare time. Alley wishes to own a digital marketing form someday.
Germany Marks Nearly 40 Thousand E-banking Phishing Cases Over the Last Decade
As one of the most widespread types of cyber-attacks, phishing has caused tremendous damage for both internet users and organizations all over the world. One of the affected countries on this global list is Germany. According to PreciseSecurity.com research, the number of officially reported phishing attacks on German online banking users in the last decade has reached nearly 40 thousand cases.