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Announcing the Call for Entries for InterswitchSPAK 4.0
Weeks
after the successful completion of InterswitchSPAK 3.0, the call for registration
for the InterswitchSPAK 4.0 National Science Competition has begun, and students
aged 14 to 17 years, from both private and government-owned secondary schools
across Nigeria are encouraged to participate and battle for the opportunity to
be named the ‘Best STEM Student in Nigeria’.
Entries
are open to all Year 11 Senior Secondary School students who are interested in
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), as that is the core
focus of the competition. The registration for the competition is scheduled to
run until May 11, 2022.
The
total winning prize of N12.5 million in university scholarships, among other
mouthwatering rewards, has been set aside for the top 3 winners. The
first-place winner will receive N7.5 million in scholarships, spread over a
five-year period, a monthly stipend, and a laptop. The second-place winner will
get N4 million in scholarships, spread over 3 years, a monthly stipend, and a
laptop while the third-place winner will receive N1 million in scholarships,
monthly stipends, and a laptop.
InterswitchSPAK
National Science Competition is a creation of Africa’s leading integrated
payments and digital commerce company, Interswitch, as part of its Switch-a-Future
initiative, in collaboration with JustMedia. The contest seeks to drive the interest in
STEM subjects among African students.
Interswitch
believes that with the observable trends today, the role of technology cannot
be underestimated, and Africa cannot be left behind in the utilisation of STEM
to drive growth on the continent and in the use of our ingenious talents to
bring about solutions to African problems.
The
final episode of the third edition aired on February 6, 2022, with Jubril Dokun
of Brainfield College, Salolo, Lagos State emerging as the season’s winner,
holding the title as the nation’s Best STEM Student after 13 weeks of the
show’s run.
In
second place was Ayanlade Jesuferanmi of Obafemi Awolowo University
International School, Ile-Ife, while Omoniyi Qudus of Scholars Universal
Secondary School, Ota came in third, beating 78 other contestants that were shortlisted
from over 10,000 students who successfully sat
for the national qualifying examinations conducted through the computer-based
test (CBT).
InterswitchSPAK,
initially a Nigerian-only initiative was expanded to the East African country
of Kenya, where two seasons of the show have been broadcast, with plans for a
third season. This affirms the company’s goal of encouraging the uptake of STEM
subjects among students in secondary schools across Africa, and interested
students are encouraged to apply using this link https://www.interswitchspak.com/
Over the years,
there has been a steady increase in the level of participation of students,
with numbers rising from over 11,000 in its first edition to over 17,000 students
in the third and most recent edition. All that is required for the students is
to register, compete and win. The process to emerging as the next Best Science Student
in the national science competition is that simple!
