Oluchi Chibuzor
Nigeria’s quest to nurture a new generation of engineering innovators received a major boost as the maiden Nigerian Engineering Olympiad (NEO) awarded N110 million in seed funding to four outstanding student-developed technologies designed to address critical challenges in security, healthcare, agriculture, and energy.
At the Grand Finale held in Lagos recently, MAUT received a N50 million grant as the overall winner, while UI received N30 million for second place. The University of Jos received N20 million for third place, and UNN received N10 million for finishing fourth. Beyond the cash prizes, the winning teams will receive continued technical mentorship, business development support, industry partnerships, and commercialization opportunities.
Speaking at the occasion, immediate past President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Margaret Oguntola, described the initiative as a bold step toward repositioning young engineers as drivers of sustainable national development.
She explained that the NSE was concerned about how to bridge the gap between the abundant talents in tertiary institutions and Nigeria’s technological advancement and industrialisation aspirations, which NEO is purposely designed to address.
Also speaking, Olutosin Ogunmola, who represented the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) on the NEO Steering Committee, described engineering as the critical difference between developed and developing nations, stressing that the profession remains central to nation-building.
He observed that sectors such as music and reality television have flourished partly because of healthy competition and public recognition.
In his welcome remarks, Country Director of Enactus Nigeria, NEO implementing partner, Mr. Michael Ajayi said investing in youth-driven innovation is essential to Nigeria’s future, noting that the competition aligns with the organisation’s mission of promoting youth leadership and enterprise development.
Speaking in a similar vein, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), initiator of NEO, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, said the organisation would continue to support the initiative in identifying and developing undergraduate and postgraduate engineering talent.
