The race to N12.5m begins as InterswitchSPAK4.0 calls for entries

Admin l Monday, April 04, 2022

 

LAGOS, Nigeria – 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 untilMay 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 JubrilDokun of Brainfield College, Salolo, Lagos State emerging as the season’s winner, holding the title as the nation’s Best STEMStudent after 13 weeks of the show’s run.

In second place was AyanladeJesuferanmi of Obafemi Awolowo University International School, Ile-Ife, while OmoniyiQudus of Scholars Universal Secondary School, Ota came in third, beating 78 other contestants that were shortlisted from over10,000 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 editionto over 17,000students 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 BestScience Student in the national science competition is that simple!