By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The 2024 edition of an annual national science competition organised by Interswitch, InterswitchSPAK, is expected to be bigger as the prizes have been doubled.
A statement from the digital payments firm disclosed that the registration for this year’s event tagged InterswitchSPAK Nigeria 6.0 has commenced, and that additional incentives have been introduced for more participants.
“We are excited to kick off another edition of InterswitchSPAK, the 6th in the series in Nigeria, and this year promises to be bigger and better than ever before.
“By doubling the prize pool and expanding opportunities, we are not only investing in the winners but also in the entire ecosystem of STEM education.
We are thrilled to see the impact this initiative has had over the last 5 editions and look forward to witnessing the brilliance and innovation of Nigeria’s young minds in this year’s competition,” the Executive Vice President & Group Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of Interswitch Group, Ms Cherry Eromosele, said.
Business Post reports that for this year’s contest, schools in Nigeria can register up to 20 SS2 Science Students each, marking an unprecedented scale of participation.
Registration for students via www.interswitchspak.com will be open until May 10, 2024, and it is free of charge to all applicants. The qualifying examination is conducted entirely online, allowing candidates to take it from the comfort of their school, home, or any convenient location.
The Computer Based Test (CBT) exams are scheduled to hold from Tuesday, May 14, to Saturday, May 18, 2024, from 8 am to 6 pm daily. Participants have the flexibility to choose the most suitable day, time, and venue for their exam, with two trials available.
Following the online qualifying examination, the top 81 students will proceed to the semi-finals and finals to compete for the coveted title of Nigeria’s Best STEM Student.
This year’s edition, with a prize pool of over N30 million, marks a 140 per cent increase from the erstwhile N12.5 million in prize winnings, demonstrating Interswitch’s unflinching commitment to educational development by doubling cash prizes for winners.
The first prize winner will receive N15 million tertiary scholarship spread over 5 years, a laptop, and monthly stipends. The second-place winner gets N10 million spread over 3 years and a laptop, while the third-place winner will get N5 million for 1 year.
In addition to the top three prizes, cash rewards are also available for the participants who secure the 4th to 9th positions. Furthermore, the top 18 semi-finalists will also receive cash prizes. The competition also recognizes the contributions of teachers and offers cash rewards for the top 27 contributing teachers.
Interswitch will also purchase JAMB e-PINS for the top 200 preliminary qualifiers to enable them register for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examinations free of charge.
The InterswitchSPAK competition is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative of the Interswitch Group aimed to foster interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects among senior secondary school students across the country.
The last edition saw Abraham Daramola, a student of Hallmark Secondary School, Ondo State, emerge as the winner, while the duo of Emmanuel Omoegbeleghan from The Crescent International School, Ogun State, and Emmanuel Angelo-Hyuwa from The Ambassadors College, Ogun State, came second and third, respectively.
