Education
African Applicants Jostle for $3m Zayed Sustainability Prize
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Organisers have called on Africans to apply to win the $3 million set aside for the Zayed Sustainability Prize.
Applicants are encouraged to submit their entry at http://entry.ZayedSustainabilityPrize.com for consideration with a submission deadline of August 9, 2018.
With a total prize fund of $3 million, the Prize awards winners across five distinct categories that include: Health, Food, Energy, Water and Global High Schools.
Having evolved from the Zayed Future Energy Prize, this annual award recognises achievements that are driving impact, innovation, and inspiration in areas across health, food, energy and water sectors with expanding possibilities for a sustainable future.
The interconnected pillars of health, food, energy and water represent the basic needs essential to human survival where innovations will yield progress in sustainable development. The evolution from the Zayed Future Energy Prize into the Zayed Sustainability Prize addresses the inter-related nature of the world’s global resource systems that determines progress of social, economic and environmental improvements.
The annual Prize provides a platform for recognising the next generation of sustainability innovators and leaders across the world. The Prize network and fund allow organisations and enterprises with existing innovations or high schools with project ideas in the defined sectors to amplify their work, expanding the reach and impact of the innovations.
The target for the Zayed Sustainability Prize is to attract applications from all countries across Africa opening up new opportunities for innovators in organisations, enterprises and high schools to amplify their impact and reach. The Prize awards unique, pioneering innovations that have the potential to affect a positive impact on humanity by helping entities scale up their efforts and yield greater success.
Dr. Lamya Fawwaz, Director of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, said: “The categories of the Zayed Sustainability Prize have been carefully selected to reflect the most pressing sustainability challenges and offer the greatest socio-economic impact on the lives of people around the world. The Prize will also look to inspire today’s youth to be forward-thinkers and cultivate within them a vested interest in becoming agents of change for sustainable development – after all, youth of today are leaders of tomorrow.”
“Africa represents the fastest growing region for entrepreneurship in the world. With award-winning projects, our winners from the continent and globally have had positive and sustainable impact on its people. Over the last decade, we have witnessed a growing interest from participants across the African continent and we expect the momentum to continue growing this year. We hope to facilitate collaborations between our ever-growing network of innovators to build stronger, more sustainable innovations and projects that will propel the continent forward,” Dr. Lamya added.
The Zayed Sustainability Prize has a three-stage evaluation process, beginning with the due diligence that is conducted by a reputed international research and analysis consultancy. Following this, the shortlisted entries will undergo evaluations by a Selection Committee to determine the finalists. From these finalists, a Jury will select the winners in all five categories, including the winning schools from six world regions.
The deliberations on who wins the Zayed Sustainability Prize are set against three core criteria where entrants must demonstrate Impact: Significant and tangible outcomes on the quality of people’s lives; Innovation: Distinctive characteristics to change the “status quo” and potential to catalyse opportunities that will have a disruptive positive impact and transformative change; and Inspiration: The potential to scale up project outcomes in the next decade and the ability to inspire others
In the past decade, the Prize focused on closing the energy gap and ensuring energy security. Africa is an important continent as it is where access to energy has significantly improved the quality of life of its people. The evolution to the Zayed Sustainability Prize and its alignment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals allows the Prize and its winners to affect an even greater impact on humanity by increasing the influx of resources in Health, Food, Energy and Water into the region.
Winners of the Zayed Sustainability Prize will be announced at the awards ceremony during the opening of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week on January 14, 2019.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has slashed the fees for the assessment and ranking of textbooks ahead of the implementation of the National Textbook Ranking Policy scheduled to commence in September 2026.
The reduction, approved through the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), was aimed at easing the financial burden on publishers and authors while facilitating compliance with the new national textbook quality assurance framework.
The decision comes ahead of the implementation of the National Textbook Ranking Policy introduced by the Minister of Education, Mr Tunji Alausa, to improve the quality and standardisation of instructional materials used in schools across the country.
Announcing the development in a statement on Wednesday, the Executive Secretary of NERDC, Mr Salisu Shehu, said the assessment fee had been reduced from N2,000 to N1,500 per page, while the ranking fee for each textbook title had been cut from N1 million to N750,000.
He said the revised fees take immediate effect and apply to all publishers and authors submitting textbooks for assessment and ranking.
Mr Shehu also disclosed that publishers who had already paid the previous assessment fee of N2,000 per page would receive refunds of the excess payments, adding that details of the refund process would be announced in due course.
He urged all stakeholders in the publishing industry to comply with the new fee regime.
“Under the policy, only textbooks that have been assessed, approved and ranked by NERDC will be approved for use in Nigerian classrooms from September 2026, while unranked textbooks will no longer be permitted,” he said.
Meanwhile, the minister explained that the initiative was designed to tackle the proliferation of textbooks in schools and ensure that teachers and learners have access to high-quality, curriculum-compliant instructional materials.
The minister restated that NERDC will continue to exercise its statutory responsibility of approving textbooks for use in schools, but that approval alone would no longer be sufficient under the new policy.
“Instead, every approved textbook will undergo a structured national evaluation and ranking process by expert committees to determine the most suitable and highest-quality books for each subject and level of education,” he said.
The minister was optimistic that the National Textbook Ranking Policy will strengthen quality assurance in education by providing schools, teachers and parents with reliable guidance on the best instructional materials for teaching and learning.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A free educational initiative to equip children with practical Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills needed to grow, thrive and prosper in a rapidly evolving world has been put together in Lagos.
The programme, Young Innovators Camp, commenced on Monday in the Lekki area of Lagos State. It is organised by MONAT, with Fidelity Bank as the sponsor.
Participating children, who must be between 4 and 10 years, will have a hands-on learning experience focused on creativity, innovation, problem-solving and critical thinking. They will be introduced to age-appropriate STEM concepts, guided build sessions and other engaging activities designed to stimulate curiosity and encourage practical learning.
The camp will also feature small group learning with facilitators, financial literacy sessions, creative activities, and other interactive experiences that support confidence-building among participants.
Every participant will also receive a specially curated gift pack filled with educational resources and STEM learning materials to encourage continued exploration and learning at home, making the camp both a memorable and transformative experience.
The Young Innovators Camp reinforces Fidelity Bank’s ongoing investment in initiatives that prepare children and young people for the future. It builds on the bank’s education-focused interventions, including initiatives such as SWEETA, which supports children, and the lender’s broader CSR agenda, which prioritises youth empowerment, education, skills development and access to opportunities that can improve long-term outcomes for individuals and communities.
“The future will be shaped by those who can solve problems, think creatively, and harness technology to improve lives.
“At Fidelity Bank, we believe these abilities should be nurtured from an early age.
“Through the Young Innovators Camp, we are giving children the opportunity to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics in a fun, practical and engaging way that inspires curiosity, builds confidence, and encourages innovation.
“We want every child who participates to leave believing that they have the potential not just to succeed in the future, but to help create it,” the Divisional Head of Brand and Communications at Fidelity Bank, Mr Meksley Nwagboh, said.
“As a bank committed to helping people grow, thrive and prosper, we see education, particularly STEM education, as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future.
“Today’s young innovators will become tomorrow’s engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs, inventors and technology leaders.
“By partnering with Monat, we are investing in a generation equipped with the skills, mindset and confidence to solve real-world challenges, create opportunities, and contribute meaningfully to national development.
“This is more than a summer camp; it is about unlocking potential and inspiring the next generation of innovators,” he added.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The top 81 students of the flagship Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) competition for senior secondary school students in Nigeria, InterswitchSPAK, have emerged.
They were chosen from the national pre-qualifying examinations, which attracted over 21,700 participants from secondary schools nationwide.
The chosen candidates distinguished themselves through exceptional performance in the examination, earning places in the next stage of the competition.
The organisers of the programme, Interswitch, one of Africa’s leading integrated payments and digital commerce companies, disclosed in a statement that the successful young scholars will now proceed to the next phase of the contest, where they will undergo further assessments at the highly anticipated televised stages airing from November 2026 to January 2027, gaining the opportunity to compete for tertiary education scholarships and prizes worth over N40 million.
“The emergence of these 81 exceptional students is a testament to the incredible talent, resilience and promise that exists among young Nigerians.
“At Interswitch, we believe that investing in STEM education is critical to building the innovators, problem-solvers and technology leaders who will shape Africa’s future.
“While we celebrate those advancing to the next stage, we are equally proud of every student who participated and demonstrated the courage to challenge themselves and pursue excellence,” the Divisional Head for Brands Communications, Content and CSR at Interswitch, Tomi Ogunlesi, stated.
Business Post reports that this year’s participation represents an approximated 19.7 per cent increase over the 18,200 students who registered for Season 7, further underscoring the growing national interest in STEM education and reinforcing InterswitchSPAK’s position as one of Nigeria’s foremost platforms for identifying, nurturing and rewarding exceptional young scientific talent.
Now in its eighth season, InterswitchSPAK continues to provide a national platform that rewards academic excellence while equipping outstanding students with opportunities for mentorship, exposure and life-changing educational support. Beyond the competition itself, the initiative reflects Interswitch’s long-standing commitment to advancing education, promoting innovation and developing the human capital required to drive Africa’s digital future.
