GIFT ROBERTS
No fewer than fifteen teams have emerged as regional semifinalists in the Nigerian Content Science and Technology Innovation Challenge, which was opened to all higher institutions in Nigeria on November 2020.
The competition is sponsored by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and its implementing partner-Enactus Nigeria.
The semifinalists emerged from higher institutions across the country, from the North, West and South/Eastern regions.
Each team contestant in the competition is made up of two undergraduates representing their schools. Among the schools are the University of Ilorin, the University of Jos, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Federal University, Dutse, Usman Danfodio University, TaiSolarin University of Education, University of Ibadan, Yaba College of Technology.
Other schools represented in the competition include Anchor University Lagos, Babcock University, Cross River University of Technology, Niger Delta University, Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Alex Ekwueme Federal University and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri.
According to the Country Director of Enactus Nigeria, Mr Michael Ajayi, the semifinalist will now advance to the ‘proof of concept’ stage of the competition, where each of the team would be given N500,000 to develop a functional prototype of their innovative ideas.
“These will then be presented to a panel of judges at the in-person regional competitions which will be held in the Northern, Western region and the South/East region respectively,”
“During this event, the representatives of the participating institutions will be expected to demonstrate, using their functional prototypes, how their proposed innovation works to solve identified problems, and also demonstrate to the panel of Judges, how the innovation will continually create opportunities for job and wealth creation if accelerated and transformed into business ventures.”