RSU Secures Int’l Partnership to Boost Students’s Industry Skills

In a move to improve students’ industry capacity, the Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworokwo, has secured a strategic partnership with Pana Holding with a view to offer students unhindered access to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, towards equipping benefiting students with practical skills to bridge Nigeria’s skills gap.

The agreement, signed in Port Harcourt by PANA Holdings Group CEO, Dr Daere Akobo, and RSU Vice Chancellor, Professor Isaac Zeb-Obipi, marks a significant step in aligning the university’s academic curriculum with real-world industry demands.

Central to the collaboration is the creation of the Rivers Valley Tech Idea Hub, which will receive $300,000 in seed funding from PANA Holdings and operate from Diplomatic Village. The hub will focus on developing a “full-cycle innovation ecosystem” covering skills training, business incubation, and scaling opportunities. Students will also benefit from mentorship with IIT Madras faculty and international exposure through planned visits to India’s Infosys facilities and Zoho University.

Highlighting the importance of industry integration, Akobo said: “We must move beyond theory to deliver practical, sustainable outcomes that bridge academia and industry through collaboration and design thinking.”

The Vice Chancellor, Professor Zeb-Obipi, pledged RSU’s full support, noting that the partnership would not only enhance students’ career readiness but also strengthen the university’s academic ranking.

The collaboration will also connect RSU researchers to PANA Holdings’ enterprise projects and extend to agriculture value-chain development with the university’s Faculty of Agriculture.

In addition, a nonprofit, the Africa Energy and Sustainability Consultancy, will be set up under the partnership to drive continental development initiatives.

PANA Holdings, with a portfolio in hydrocarbon measurement, pipeline services, and non-conventional oil and gas technologies, brings significant industrial expertise to the table. The partnership introduces its innovative “digital data refinery” concept, designed to make unstructured data usable for better decision-making across sectors.

For RSU students, the initiative represents an opportunity to gain globally competitive skills and practical exposure, a move stakeholders say is critical in tackling graduate unemployment and positioning the institution as a model for industry-integrated higher education in Nigeria.

The programme is expected to roll out in the coming months, with the first set of students beginning training as arrangements for international knowledge transfer are finalised.