Written by A student team from Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) saw off competition from around 50 other teams to emerge as the winners of Nigerian Genius 2023.
Now in its second year, the annual national engineering competition is organised by Clintonel Innovation Centre (CIC) in Aba. The competition brings together Nigeria’s brightest minds in tertiary institutions to solve Nigeria’s most complex engineering and manufacturing challenges. Students get to showcase their skills, gain exposure to real-world engineering challenges and learn from industry experts.
Identifying one winner from around 50 shortlisted institutions
In this year’s edition of the Nigerian Genius, 49 tertiary institutions were shortlisted to participate in the competition. Four finalists emerged: University of Uyo (Team UNIUYO), Yaba College of Technology (Team YABATECH), Ahmadu Bello University (Team ABU) and Federal University of Technology Minna (Team FUTMINNA).
These schools were ranked based on their performance in the competition. The evaluation considered various criteria including: engineering design and fabrication, teamwork, creativity, analytical thinking, engineering knowledge, problem solving and soft skills.
- Team YABATECH was ranked No. 1 in engineering education 2023. The team also earned a second award for incorporating the most innovative engineering design into their final solution.
- Team FUTMINNA was ranked No. 2. The team received the People’s Choice Award.
- Team UNIUYO was ranked No. 3. They received the Sustainability Award for using recycled materials in their final solution.
- Ahmadu Bello University Zaria (ABU) was ranked No. 4. The team received the Resilience Award for being the most resilient team.
Members of Team YABATECH were really delighted with their success – see a testimonial here.
I had learnt so much within a very short period of time, I have gotten a better understanding of what Engineering in the industry looks like in contrast to what we learn from school. I have also gotten the very foundation I need to advance my career in hardware development and embedded systems.
The aspects of Nigerian Genius 2023 I enjoyed the most are the brain teasers which helps to improve the need to work in teams, the design for manufacturing class, the laser class and the PCB design class.
Olayinka Oyewole
Nigerian Genius helped me by improving my 3D design mind and exposed me to 3D printing and laser cutting. During the competition I learnt that any project is possible when there is teamwork and dedication. My weakness has always been no putting enough time to my work.
Eromosele David Momoh
Responding to the challenge of food insecurity
The four finalists were given the challenge of solving Nigeria’s food crisis. The Nigerian president recently declared a state of emergency on food insecurity. It is estimated that the average Nigerian spends more than 60% of their income on food, compared to less than 10% in developed nations.
Within two weeks, they designed and built a farming robot to mechanise and automate farming, scale food production, and secure the lives of farmers. The robot can perform tasks such as clearing, planting, harvesting, irrigation, surveillance and weather updates. It has the potential to revolutionise agriculture in Nigeria.
This innovation could address food insecurity and uplift the livelihood of farmers, thereby contributing to the overall economic development of the country.
Through the competition we aim to highlight how engineering plays a critical part in manufacturing, industrial and national development. We also want to inspire tertiary institutions across the country to improve their engineering education, helping them to address industry needs.
Engineering students are equipped with essential industry and manufacturing skills. They will be more employable as a result. The competition helps to boost local manufacturing, resulting in employment generation and economic development.
Blessing Eke, head of marketing and publicity at CIC
About Nigerian Genius and Engineering for Industry (E4I)
The Nigerian Genius competition is designed to advance engineering education in Nigeria and contribute to the development of practical skills, problem-solving abilities, and leadership qualities among the participants.
The competition saw the finalists of the Nigerian Genius 2023 being trained by industry experts on essential engineering and manufacturing skills such as: Computer Aided Design (CAD), Computer Aided Manufacturing, casting, engineering fabrication, embedded systems and problem solving. Using a project-based learning approach, students designed and produced several products during the training element of the competition.
The Nigerian Genius is part of Engineering for Industry (E4I), a capacity building project for engineering innovation, product development and manufacturing. E4I aims to bridge the skills gap between engineering education and industry, thus enhancing the employability of graduates and facilitating the growth of indigenous industries.
E4I prepares engineering graduates for success. Through the E4I project, more than 700 engineering students and lecturers from six tertiary institutions in Nigeria have been trained. In addition, five indigenous STEM kits have been developed and used to train 1,290 secondary school students and teachers in Nigeria.
About Clintonel Innovation Centre (CIC)
The Nigerian Genius is designed and implemented by Clintonel Innovation Centre (CIC). Clintonel is a solar powered STEM Centre, Nigeria’s first Makerspace (Engineering Tech Hub) and Hardware Startup Incubator. It provides training, mentoring and equipment for young people to create engineering innovations, build indigenous products and start up technology businesses.
Clintonel is an authorised Autodesk Learning Partner (ALP).