As the show
inches closer to the coveted prize of N12.5 million worth of scholarships, more
contestants in the InterswitchSPAK 3.0 National Science Competition filed out
to vie for a spot on the semi-finals stage of the competition. On December 11,
2021, the fifth episode of the TV show began with another set of 9 SuperSPAK
hopefuls.
As usual, the
programme kicked off with the introduction of a SPAK hero – this time it was
Prof. Deji Akinwande, the renowned Electrical and Computer Engineer. The
citation on the SPAK Hero serves as a motivation for the Spaksters and the
hero’s achievements are expected to spark the genius and creativity in the
minds of the young ones.
The
audience-free studio spotlighted the Spaksters ready to take on questions that
would guarantee their spots in the semi-finals rounds and eventually, the final
stage of the competition. Winners of the competition get to share in the
guaranteed sum of N12.5 million worth of scholarships.
The first-place
winner gets N7.5 million worth of scholarship spread over 5 years with a
monthly stipend, a brand-new laptop and the bragging rights as the best science
student in Nigeria. The second-place winner gets N4 million worth of scholarships
spread over 3 years, a laptop and a monthly stipend; while the third-place
winner will receive a N1 million scholarship spread over 1 year, and a
brand-new laptop.
In the sixth
episode, the Foundation Round took off to a hobbled start. Interestingly, the
SPAK Hero for this episode was the famous Faisal Abubakar Sani – the talented
young lady who had 9 distinctions in the West Africa Secondary Certificate
Examination. The Hero was a perfect fit as this set of SuperSPAKs had 3 girls
competing.
And then the
competition began with the contestants all appearing calm. On a lighter note,
two of the contestants owned up to guessing the answers- in a game that
requires knowledge, accuracy and precision, that was refreshing.
However, these
Spaksters remained calm and continued to fight for their spots in the
competition. And this was something that was observed in all four episodes
under review. However, the Advanced Round unsettled the calm of the
contestants, as they struggled to settle between ‘skip’ or ‘pass’ when they
came across the tougher questions.
For the seventh
episode, Ipin – one of the Spaksters – took us through some Japanese lessons
picked from one of his favourite pastimes – watching anime, easing us into the
Foundation Round. For the Advanced Round, the confidence of Evana – the only
female contestant that scaled through – did not match her answers, as she
scored the lowest, unfortunately.
Qudus’
brilliance, on the other hand, shone through, even though it was apparent that
the pressure had mounted, due to the questions he got wrong. In the end, he
topped the leaderboard in the Advanced Round, nudging him into the semi-finals
with 180 points.
In the eighth
episode, the mood mirrored that of the previous episodes: calm. The episode
also revealed other extracurricular activities the SuperSPAKs enjoy, such as
drawing and singing. Unfortunately, the SuperSPAKs are not being judged by
their calm, rather they are judged on Speed, Precision, Accuracy and Knowledge
in answering the questions. So, the SuperSPAKs with the least scores ended
their journey in the competition at the foundation round.
In the Advanced
Round, despite getting some questions wrong, Ayo held his own and tied with Leo
to move to the semi-final stage with 140 points after leading his fellow
Spaksters by 145 points in the Foundation round.
It is
instructive to note how vital the InterswitchSPAK platform is in providing
inspiration and leverage for these students; giving them a platform to display
their brilliance while providing them with opportunities to enhance their
capacity to be STEM students and inspire them to pursue STEM careers.
InterswitchSPAK
3.0 TV Show is still airing in earnest and can be viewed on DSTV Africa Magic
Family Channel 154 and GOTV channel 2, every Saturday by 6:30 pm, and on Sunday
on the AIT Network by 3:30 pm.
Individuals
across all ages are encouraged to tune in. Students, parents and teachers are
encouraged to take the front row in front of their Television sets for
subsequent episodes of the InterswitchSPAK 3.0 TV Show.
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