They are gradually fading from the news and the social media. The triumphant run of the Onitsha 5 Coding Girls climaxed with reception by the Vice President and another by the elated Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano. Obiano was deservedly a proud father, providing encouragement and support to the team before and after.
Salutations to Promise Nnalue, Jessica Osita, Nwabuaku Ossai, AdaezeOnuigbo,and Vivian Okoye, students of Regina Pacis Secondary School, Onitsha that brought cause for rejoicing in Nigeria in August. Some beat their chest in ethnic triumphalism. Even that counts.
Before we consign the winners of the Technovation Challenge to our heap of forgetfulness, there is need to do more with the matter. It concerns education. It involves particularly the STEM variant of it: Science, technology, engineering,and mathematics. Prof Yemi Osinbajo spoke of Nigeria adding A to STEM to bring about STEAM. The Arts are an essential component of science and technology, he stated. Anyone familiar with the inspiration and origins of many scientific achievements such as the Apple MacIntosh would agree.
READ ALSO: Why Nigerian varsities need periodic STEM curricula review
As BusinessDaynoted in an editorial, there is a need to Replicate Technovation Challenge across the country. EduFunk, the company of team lead UchennaOnwuamegbu, has the experience to lead the process. Start in Anambra State with the buzz from the Onitsha 5 ringing around the state and then do similar contests across the South East and Nigeria.
Then enable our girls and boys to enter many such contests across the world. Also, create similar competitionsin the country. Test the capacity and capability of our educational system to cope with the new world order in the STEM.
How many teams of girls from across the country would enter for the 2019 Technovation Challenge? Who are those seeking opportunities and recognition in other contests in the evolving area of applications of technology to solve community challenges? Or in the new field of Artificial Intelligence?
Women groups across the country can play a role. Individuals can register with Technovation on https://technovationchallenge.org/get-started/. There are roles for student, mentor, ambassador or judge. We should encourage teams of girls to enter the competition so they can try out their ideas to change the world through technology. Let us develop the curiosity, creativity,and determination of the girl child in Nigeria.
Many competitions are available for schools, ministries of education and state governments to consider and steer students into entering. They include the AAN Neuroscience Prizes, BioGENEius Challenges, Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, and the eCyberMission. Others include ExploraVision, Generation Nano: Superheroes Inspired by Science and Google Science Fair.
Then there is the International Chemistry Olympiad, MIT THINK Scholars Program, the Science Olympiad and You Be The Chemist Challenge as well as the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
The Google Science Fair (https://www.googlesciencefair.com) is an online science competition sponsored by Google, Lego, Virgin Galactic, National Geographic and Scientific American. It invites 13-18 year olds to get inventive, solve problems, share ideas and win. Google Science Fair works on the proposition that “every idea has the power to shape our world.” Areas covered include Environment, Tech, Robotics, Space, Health and Community. Others are Food, Artificial Intelligence, Travel, and Energy. On offer are 139 prizes including a $50,000 educational scholarship, $15,000 scholarship and travel to LEGO® in Billund, Denmark, a National Geographic $15,000 Explorer Award that enables the winner to embark on an expedition and more.
THINK at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (https://think.mit.edu/) is the annual science research and innovation competition for high school students. THINK caters to students who have done extensive research on the background of a potential research project and are looking for additional evidence in the early stages of their project. Students submit proposals of not more than ten pages detailing the problem they are attempting to solve, how their idea/system combats the target problem, developmental procedure, a timetable of milestones and budget allocation. Finalists spend four days all-expenses paid at the MIT campus where they meet professors in their field of research, tour labs, attend MIT’s eFair and hang out with members of the THINK team. THINK would open a call for entries this October.
Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (https://www.societyforscience.org/intel-international-science-and-engineering-fair) would next hold in Phoenix, Arizona, the USA from May 12-17, 2019. The Society for Science and the Public organises this annual STEM competition to encourage young people in the fields of science and engineering. “Each year, approximately 1,800 high school students from more than 75 countries, regions, and territories are awarded the opportunity to showcase their independent research and compete for on average $5 million in prizes at Intel ISEF. The competition focuses on identifying, inspiring, and engaging the world’s next STEM generation.” Participants have gone on to stellar careers.
There are many others. Royal College of Science Union Science Challenge (http://sciencechallenge.org/about)is a UK-based annual science communication competition that asks entrants to demonstrate their skills in scientific debate and reasoning. It is open to those in secondary school or equivalent anywhere in the world.
Calling teachers and students. Get busy with ideas; challenge yourselves to do something in the STEM and win prizes for yourselves and the country. Companies should be exploring local versions or replicas of these global contests to replace the fixation with dancing competitions or stroll-in-the-jungle contests for which they win N5m and flashy cars while best graduating students only get N100, 000 for the well-endowed. Please change the narrative with decisive action.
Chido Nwakanma
