Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
On Sunday, October 29, 2023, the race for the sharing of N12.5 million by the top 3 contestants of the fifth edition of the InterswitchSPAK National Science Competition commenced.
A total of 81 secondary school students are competing for the crown of the best Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students in Nigeria.
The first prize winner will receive a whooping sum of N7.5 million worth of scholarships for five years, a laptop, and monthly stipends. The second-place winner will receive N4 million in scholarships for three years, a laptop, and monthly stipends, while the third-place winner will, get N1 million in scholarships for one year, monthly stipends, and a laptop.
Previous editions of the competition saw only the top three contestants go home with financial rewards, however, this fifth season will feature an expanded winning pool.
To commemorate the fifth edition of the competition, Interswitch will reward more winners, with the 4th to 24th contestants receiving cash prizes of up to N250,000.
Not only will the students be recipients of these exciting cash prizes, but their teachers, being the linchpins of institutional learning, will also be rewarded for their remarkable contributions.
The InterswitchSPAK 5.0 will air every Sunday on DSTV Africa Magic Family Channel 154 at 6:00 p.m, with a repeat programme on Wednesdays at 3:30 pm on the same channel. Additionally, the show can be watched on AIT Network every Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
Business Post gathered that for this year’s edition, the organisers received entries from over 17,000 secondary-school-age students between the ages of 14 and 17 from public and private secondary schools across Nigeria. The top 81 contestants were chosen after the national qualifying examinations.
The InterswitchSPAK National Science Competition is the CSR initiative of Interswitch, Africa’s leading integrated payments and digital commerce company.
It was designed to empower aspiring and brilliant young minds who possess the potential to impact the African narrative one STEM subject at a time.
InterswitchSPAK’s focus on STEM rises from the recognition of these subjects as the cornerstone of innovation, development, and progress, not only in Africa but across the globe. Interswitch is contributing to the development of future leaders and problem-solvers who will shape the African continent and the world through their STEM prowess.
