CRUTECH, FUTO Qualify for NCDMB Science Competition

By Adedapo Adesanya

Cross River State University of Technology (CRUTECH) and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, (FUTO) will represent the Eastern region at the national level in the upcoming Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board’s Science and Technology Innovation Challenge (STIC).

The two universities progressed to represent the region after beating other schools, namely, Alex Ekweme Federal University, Abakiliki; Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State; and the University of Calabar, at the regional level.

The STIC competition, organized by the NCDMB, is an upshoot of the agency’s interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Speaking, NCDMB Manager, Capacity Building Division, Mr Ama Ikuru, explained that the innovations demonstrated by the schools, will go a long way in helping to domiciled capacity and also improve lives.

Mr Ikuru noted that the board was also supporting vocational secondary schools, in a bid to promote skill acquisitions even at an early age.

He presented certificates of participation and congratulated all the contending universities from the South-South and South-East region, explaining that they were already winners, having gotten to the regional stage of the competition.

The STIC is a novel entrepreneurship development programme of the NDCMB and implemented by Enactus Nigeria, intended to challenge all students of accredited Nigerian tertiary institutions to apply science, technology and innovation to find home-grown solutions to everyday problems across all sectors of the economy.

The programme, according to the organisers, will challenge the next generation of Nigerians to think of innovative ways to apply science and technology to solve the deep problems experienced in every sector of the Nigerian economy.

Winners of the competition will not only get prizes but will gain exposure to industry experts who will mentor them to scale their innovation into business ideas that will remain profitable while providing more jobs and creating wealth.