By Dipo Olowookere
Following the success of the first edition of InterswitchSPAK National Science competition, organisers of the educational programme have announced registration for the second edition.
At a press briefing held on Wednesday, March 6, 2019 in Lagos, Interswitch, the lead sponsor of the competition, said it is only open to Senior Secondary 2 students across the country aged between 14 and 17 years, while intending participants have been told to register for the contest on www.interswitchspak.com .
The InterswitchSPAK National Science competition focuses on driving increased interest in the study of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects among students.
It will kick off with a national qualifying examination from which 81 finalists will emerge to compete at the InterswitchSPAK TV quiz competition.
The InterswitchSPAK programme includes a Masterclass, an Innovation Challenge and a TV quiz competition around STEM subjects.
The aim of InterswitchSPAK is to encourage and guide the students along career paths that will help them achieve full optimization of their potentials and dreams to become inventors or entrepreneurs.
Group Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Interswitch, Ms Cherry Eromosele, encouraged all eligible students to participate and register in this second edition.
She noted that the importance of STEM education cannot be over-emphasized in our society; especially considering our current societal challenges.
“At Interswitch, we understand that technology is key to solving most of our challenges in Africa. Promoting and rewarding excellence in STEM subjects among secondary school students is our way of preparing the younger generation to take up this challenge,” she said.
Speaking on the registration process, Group Head, Brands, at Interswitch Group, Ms Enyioma Anaba, explained that the competition was open to girls and boys in public and private secondary schools in Nigeria, aged between 14 and 17 years.
She further explained that new schools are required to first register on the InterswitchSPAK platform before registering their students, while returning schools can directly register their students. Each such school is expected to register six students each, at least two of which must be girls.
The overall winner will be awarded a five-year scholarship in any tertiary institution, a laptop, a gold trophy and monthly stipends throughout the duration of the scholarship, all totalling N7.5million.
The second-place winner will be awarded a three-year scholarship, a laptop, a silver trophy and monthly stipends for the three years totalling N4 million; while the third place winner will receive a year-long scholarship worth N1 million, a laptop, and a bronze trophy.
Business Post reports that the InterswitchSPAK National Science competition is a CSR initiative of the leading Nigerian Pan-African digital payment and commerce solutions company.
