French government partners FUNAI on joint scholarship programme

The government of France is partnering the Federal University Ndufu Alike, Ikwo, Ebonyi State, in a joint scholarship programme for postgraduate studies.

This was revealed by the vice-chancellor of the university, Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba while addressing academics on the need to take advantage of the partnership between the school and the French government to bag their masters and doctoral degrees in acclaimed French universities.

The FRANCO/FUNAI Joint Scholarship Programme is a tripartite agreement between the government of France, Alliance Francaise and the university. The French government is expected to provide free tuition, health insurance and visa for the students, while the university is expected to offset costs of students’ accommodation, air tickets and feeding.

Nwajiuba said true academics were only those who are irrevocably committed to production-driven research, geared towards providing solutions to many challenges facing the society.

He further stated that the joint scholarship was an opportunity for every academic in the university to gain international exposure in the area of their research interests, adding that learning French language in the process would also make them bi-lingual, give them an edge and an added advantage in the present globalised economy.

The vice chancellor maintained that for the university to actualise its vision of attaining world-class status, academics should strive to be proficient and masters of second language like French, German and Chinese, which he said would make them access research grants for their doctoral, post-doctoral and fellowship programmes from different universities around the world.

He added that being bi-lingual also enables one to be considered for lucrative positions in many international organisations.

Recently, the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Denys Gauer, informed that the French government was collaborating with the university in the training young academics to acquire their postgraduate degrees in French varsities.

Gauer noted that Nigeria and France have had a long and fruitful history of partnerships and pledged to continue promoting the bilateral ties through their embassy and other agencies in the country.

Meanwhile, arrangement has been concluded to start a 20-week intensive French language training programme in the university this month to enable intending scholars gain French proficiency certificates.

Programme Coordinator, Miss Saramme Comel of Campus-France, Abuja said this was the usual practice before the researchers depart for their studies in France.