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Interswitch Reaffirms Commitment to Encouraging STEM Education, Kicks-off InterswitchSPAK 5.0
Interswitch has expressed its commitment to encouraging Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in Nigeria with the commencement of 5th edition of InterswitchSPAK National Science competition.
The competition, which is open to all senior secondary school students between the ages of 14 and 17 in public and private schools in Nigeria, aims to discover and nurture young students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, with the goal of building a knowledge-based society and promoting sustainable development in Africa. InterswitchSPAK provides a platform for students to showcase their academic prowess in STEM subjects and compete for various exciting prizes, including university scholarships.
During the course of the competition, contestants will be taken through various qualifying rounds, including online assessments and a national qualifying examination leading to the semi-finals stage. This will be followed by a grand finale where the finalists will compete for the ultimate prize of N7.5 million in scholarships for a five-year period, a laptop and monthly stipends. The second-place winner will receive N4 million in scholarships for three years, a laptop and monthly stipends. The third-place winner will in turn get N1 million in scholarships for one year, monthly stipends and a laptop. There will also be mentoring opportunities with senior Interswitch employees, as well as other exciting prizes.
This year’s special edition will offer a prize pool of over 14 million Naira, an increase from the usual 12.5 million Naira, as the competition aims to reward more winners than ever before. The increase in prize money will see over 100 students and teachers rewarded instead of just the top 3 winners.
Furthermore, InterswitchSPAK will also purchase JAMB e-PINS for 54 contestants to enable them to register for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination free of charge. These initiatives are a testament to InterswitchSPAK’s commitment to nurturing young talents in STEM and providing them with opportunities to excel in their chosen fields.
According to the Founder and Group Managing Director of Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe, “InterswitchSPAK is a celebration of our commitment to promoting STEM education in Africa and empowering the next generation of innovators and problem solvers. As we commence the fifth edition, we are delighted to have reached this milestone in the competition and assure Africans that more students across the continent will have access to quality STEM education through InterswitchSPAK.”
This year’s competition, being a commemorative edition, promises to be more exciting as well as educative. Over the past four editions, the competition has seen remarkable success stories of students who have emerged as winners and have gone on to make significant contributions in various STEM fields.
Speaking during the launch of this year’s edition of the National Science Competition, Cherry Eromosele, Executive Vice President, Group Marketing and Corporate Communications at Interswitch, said, “We are excited to kick off this edition of InterswitchSPAK particularly because it’s been five years of visible impact. This highlights our focus on inspiring and empowering innovative young minds to drive progress in STEM and shape the future of Africa and the world at large.”
Oladapo Ojo, Founder and Group Managing Director of JustMedia, the technical partner of the InterswitchSPAK initiative, while speaking at the press conference also said “Working on InterswitchSPAK over the years has been an incredible journey for JustMedia. We are proud to be a part of this initiative which seeks to promote academic excellence and STEM education among secondary school students in Africa. Our team has been fully committed to providing technical support to ensure the success of the competition and we are excited and looking forward to the fifth edition of this laudable project.”
InterswitchSPAK was birthed as a platform to engage and empower young Nigerians to become future leaders of innovation and the initiative’s consistency over the years is a demonstration of Interswitch’s commitment to its vision of promoting STEM education in Africa. The company believes that by nurturing young students in STEM subjects, it can contribute to building a sustainable and prosperous future for Africa.
All eligible students and schools are encouraged to visit https://www.interswitchspak.com/ for more details about participating in the competition, as this year’s search for the best STEM student begins.
Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.
Participants at the event
Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,
This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.
While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.
Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.
It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.
Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.
Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.
While 85 per cent of Nigeria is in darkness, Tanzania, an African country has shut down five hydroelectric stations in a bid to reduce excess electricity in the national grid.
Kassim Majaliwa, prime minister, Tanzania, has said the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, alone generated enough electricity to power major cities, including Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub.
It is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed hydroelectric stations due to excess production.
“We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official from state-run power company, Tanesco, said.
The 2,115MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam is said to be almost filled with water following heavy rains that started early this year.
Meanwhile, while the country has an installed capacity of 1,938MW and the grid installed capacity of 1,899MW, Nigeria which has an installed capacity of 13,000MW is struggling to electrify 85 per cent of its electricity consumers.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Jim Ovia, renowned banker and businessman, as the Chairman, Board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Jim Ovia
Ovia’s appointment is contained in a State House statement titled, ‘President Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as Chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund,’ and issued on Friday by Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the President, Media & Publicity.
The statement noted that “Ovia is the founder of one of Nigeria’s leading banks and a respected business leader, with a surfeit of efforts and benefaction towards nurturing and empowering young Nigerians.
“He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana.”
The National Student Loan Programme is a pivotal intervention that seeks to guarantee sustainable higher education and functional skill development for all Nigerian students and youths.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the implementing institution of this innovation, demands excellence and Nigerians of the finest professional ilk to guide and manage.
“The President believes Mr. Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to this role to advance the all-important vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds,” the statement partly read.
Ovia’s appointment will also ensure “that Nigerian youths, irrespective of who they are, have access to higher education and skills that will make them productive members of society and core contributors to the knowledge-based global economy of this century.”
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