Ebonyi State Nigeria postgraduate scholarship students tour University of Greater Manchester’s £40m School of Medicine

University cohort on full Ebonyi State government scholarship are studying a variety of 12-month masters programmes

Post graduate scholarship students from a Ebonyi State Nigeria visited the University of Greater Manchester’s new School of Medicine.

These 129 students from Ebonyi State University were selected after fierce competition in Ebonyi State where thousands apply for one seat.

The scholarship award is part of the Ebonyi State Governor’s strategy of building the nation. The University of Greater Manchester secured 65 per cent of the scholarships awarded this year.

The Ebonyi State University students were given a welcome induction and a tour around the University’s £40m Institute of Medical Sciences building, which houses the School of Medicine.

They saw state-of-the-art simulation suites designed to replicate hospital wards; mannequins that can be programmed to mimic human physiological processes; 3D anatomy and virtual dissection beds, and an immersive ‘4D room’ with projectors, sounds, lighting and ‘smellovision’ to mimic realistic scenarios.

The cohort’s fees and living costs is fully supported and they are studying 12-month academic programmes at the University’s town centre campus. Subjects include engineering, cybersecurity, robotics, artificial intelligence, law, data analytics and software development.

They were welcomed by the President and Vice Chancellor, Professor George E Holmes DL, who has been informed by Ebonyi State that this cohort, provided they pass, will also be supported with further scholarships to read PhDs, allowing them to extend their studies by a further three years.  

Dr Gideon Okorie, Medic and Senior Lecturer in the School of Medicine at the University of Greater Manchester, said competition to secure UK university scholarships granted by the Ebonyi State Government under His Excellency Rt Hon Francis Ogbonnaya Nwifuru, the executive Governor of Ebonyi State was “very high”.

He added: “I am delighted to have helped secure this project which is more than two thirds of this year’s allocation from Ebonyi State, thanks to our strong reputation for practice-immersed learning and teaching excellence, coupled with student satisfaction.”

Top Government officials accompanied the students - Professor Amari Chukwu Omaka, Hon Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Ebonyi State, Nigeria; Ikporo Chibueze Stephen PhD, Secretory of the Ebonyi State Scholarship Board; Hon Joshua Ajuluchukwu Nwafor. Special Adviser to Ebonyi State Governor on Student Matters and Hon James Nwoba Ndieze, Member 11, Ebonyi State Scholarship Board.

The Institute of Medical Sciences building was awarded £20m from the Levelling Up Fund (LUF) in 2021. The University also provided £20m, bringing the total cost of the facility’s construction to £40m.

Standing in the grounds of the Royal Bolton Hospital, the Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS) will eventually deliver training to around 3,000 learners per year and provide Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities for existing NHS staff at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and other local healthcare facilities.

The University of Greater Manchester is currently working to the General Medical Council’s (GMC) stringent quality assurance framework to support the first cohort of Undergraduate Medical Students in 2025.