Oladipupo Awojobi 
Winners have emerged from the 2025 National Engineering Science and Technology Essay Competition (NESTEC) 5.0 Award Ceremony with Mr Peter Ameh of Obafemi Awolowo University in the lead with 76.33 per cent.
Miss Mbanwusi Odirachukwunma from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka came second with an aggregate score of 76 per cent while Mr Eka Michael, Akwa Ibom State University came third scoring 74.33 per cent.
The winners emerged out of nine finalists who took their presentations at the virtual award ceremony, which held on Monday.
Participants were drawn from across tertiary institutions in the nation from several students who submitted papers online.
The three winners went away with cash rewards of N500,000; N300,000 and N200,000 each for the first, second and third positions respectively.
The programme was organised by the Blue Apple Educational Foundation (BAEF) in collaboration with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Nigeria Section.
BAEF is a group focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Innovation (STEI) in Nigeria.
BAEF President, Mr Michael Akan during presentation of the cash prizes explained the strict transparent selection process that led to the emergence of the nine finalists.
He said several papers were disqualified by assessors leaving only nine finalists.
Earlier, while making his opening speech, Akan explained the vision of the competition including, unlocking and nurturing young innovators in engineering and technology, promoting research and expanding global opportunities for talents.
He explained successes recorded through BAEF including STEI Journals publications and mentorship to guide the next generation of STEI leaders.
“Today, we celebrate not just a competition, but a movement. I commend the assessors committee for their rigorous evaluation and the paper supervisors for their invaluable guidance.
“To our past finalists-now NESTEC Ambassadors-your success stories inspire us to keep pushing boundaries,” he said.
He thanked participants, partners, board members and other stakeholders for thier continued collaboration.
Akan said the first three award ceremonies held physically in Lagos, with the fourth and fifth holding virtually, adding that, considerations were on to make the next one physical.
Chairman of the occasion, Dr Victor Udo, explained various opportunities in science, urging participants to continue to harness them not just through essays but in practice.
He said the event to celebrate the writers was not just a competition but a movement for critical thinking that makes global impact.
The Special Guest of Honour, Dr Marissa McGinley, who joined from Pennnsylvania, USA commended BAEF’s partnership with Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
McGinley delivering a keynote on “Beyond the Algorithms and Blueprints” said she had been involved in education for 25 years, stressing the need for interdisciplinary connections for STEM’s effectiveness.
The acronym STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
She advised participants to boldly embrace networking and mentorship to use STEM education for innovations to bridge the gap between theory and practice.
The Guest Lecturer, Helen Okereke from African Leadership University, Rwanda delivering a paper, “Beyond Research and Books: The Power of Practical STEM” explained the need for harmony between theory and practicals.
She urged the students to bring their topics to life by creating prototypes from their essays for real live solutions to needs of communities.
“In fact, theory becomes clearer when you’ve held the wires, debugged errors, or seen the circuit fail and succeed again,” she said.
The Guest Project Presenter, Janarthanan Babu, a high school student at Charter School of Wilmington, presented a paper titled: “Intelligent Knee Rehabilitation Device: Enhancing Recovery Through Technology”.
Making slide presentation, he showcased how his invention could enhance fast recovery from knee surgery.
Speaking on behalf of the winners, Ameh thanked the organisers of the event, his colleagues and other stakeholders for the success of the award ceremony.
“I give all glory to God and I would like to also appreciate my colleagues as well from school who are currently on this call. Thank you so much for joining,” he said.
