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Salisu Ali & David Ntekim-Rex Emerge Regional Winners Of The 2018 Master The Mainframe Competition

Two Nigerian students, Salisu Ali of Bayero University Kano and David Ntekim-Rex of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), have emerged regional winners in the annual Master the Mainframe competition, organised by AngelHack and IBM Z Academic Initiative.

A statement by IBM said 21-year-old Salisu Ali, and 19-year-old David Ntekim-Rex, emerged in the first and second positions, respectively in the Middle East and Africa region, and were named among the top 12 finalists globally.

Both students’ entries, according to the judges, showcased innovation and their clear understanding of software security and utility principles, which are the two key attributes of mainframe systems.

The other 10 finalists were from Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, Nepal and the United States of America, the organisers stated.

According to the organisers of the 2018 Master The Mainframe Competition:

“More than 17,000 young people from around the world participated in this year’s Master the Mainframe contest, an introduction to programming and application development competition designed to teach students how to code and build new innovations using the mainframe.

Eighty per cent of registrants were new. Students were introduced to the enterprise systems behind their smartphone apps and gained hands-on experience to inspire interest in pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers. By participating, students learnt, prepared for careers and could win prizes.”

According to the IBM Technical Solutions Manager, Brian Collins, and the General Manager, IBM Z Team, Ross Mauri, attracting participants from more than 120 countries across six continents, this year’s contest was truly a global contest and it drew the largest turnout since the contest began in 2005.

They observed that millennials were a perfect match for mainframes and that in a world where the focus often seemed on designing the latest app, these contestants entered the competition with the hope of getting jobs on the Mainframe, which was first introduced in the 1960s.

As part of the contest, IBM made all contestants to create their own applications that dealt with flour, oil and sugar with over 600 different companies worth of data that needed to be sorted and tracked.

Contestants needed to translate multiple flat files of data into dynamic applications that could run on the mainframe without error.

Dot Learn Wins $25,000 Edtech Prize [2018]

Dot Learn, an online video e-learning company located in Nigeria, has won $25,000 Edtech Prize in the ‘Next Billion’ Edtech Prize launched by The Varkey Foundation to recognise the most innovative technology destined to have a radical impact on education in low income and emerging world countries.

Nigerian-based Dot Learn, emerged a runner-up, which makes online video e-learning accessible on slow, expensive internet connections for users in low-income countries. TeachMeNow, also a runner-up, is a marketplace that connects teachers, experts, and mentors based in the UAE.

Dot Learn, co-founded by Tunde Alawode, Sam Bhattacharyya and Thomas Richmann, was among the three winners awarded $25,000 as well as the unique opportunity to pilot their technology in partner schools in Western Cape, South Africa.

According to the CEO and Co-founder of Dot Learn, Sam Bhattacharyya:

“We are very strong believers that education technology is the future and that more students when they see online video, they will be more prone to study online because learning now is about technology.”

The inaugural ‘Next Billion’ Edtech Prize was won by Chatterbox; an online solution – online language school, which gives refugees the chance to work both online and in-person as language tutors.

The prize is worth £18,900 and the winner gets an opportunity to pilot their technology in partner schools in Western Cape, South Africa.

The £18,900 prize will go towards Chatterbox’s target of reaching £350,000, which will help it expand its network beyond the UK to other countries with large refugee populations for whom there are few economic opportunities.

Michael Friday Invents ‘Mobile Intercom’ [2018]

Engineer Michael Friday, has come up with an invention called Mobile Intercom aimed at relieving subscribers of telecommunications services of the need to buy recharge cards.

According to Michael Friday on Mobile Intercom:

“The source of Internet we depend on is in foreign hands. Even our telecommunications companies depend on them. If you want to manufacture a mobile phone, until you buy the operating system chips and insert it on your system, it can never access any of these technologies.

WIFI and Bluetooth are minute ICs embedded in the PCV that makes them work.

Why don’t we have such a thing here? It is because there is no backing. Late last year, I came up with an application. I was at a function and the moment a bigwig came in, all mobile phones stopped working. And I said to myself, ‘If there is any security issue here, now, everybody is doomed.’

So, I coded an application that I can use to make calls, send SMS, do video calls and all of that without mobile spectrum, without Internet or network. We have completed it and it is working. Our chip sets can transmit up to 5000 metres, that is about 5 kilometres.”

Friday is a global award winner for developing the smallest storage micro chips in 2009, at a science competition in China. He emerged the overall best scientist in 2009.

He is also a two-time award winner of the most outstanding youth in Nigeria in 2009 and 2011.

Emmanuel Chuwang Wins 2018 NASCO Cycling Awareness Competition

Emmanuel Chuwang, an amateur cyclist in Jos, ran 9.6 kilometers in 14 minutes to emerge winner of the 2018 NASCO Cycling Awareness competition, which took off from Old Airport Junction, Jos and terminated at New Zaria Road Stadium.

The Cycling Awareness competition is sponsored by NASCO Group Nigeria Ltd.

On his victory, Emmanuel Chuwang declared:

“God is the giver of strength of mind and body; I dedicate this victory to him.”

Victor Lapang, Plateau Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, said that the state government was passionate about promoting sports because it was crucial to peace, progress and development.

In the words of Victor Lapang:

“We are going to look into hockey, basketball, cycling and many other sports.

Cycling has been known as a major form of exercise; I am really delighted to see the kind of people who have come out because they constitute of both the old and the young.

For the young ones, you can aspire to take it as a profession and work hard for a better future ahead.

For the old ones, we cannot over emphasize the issue of body fitness. If you keep doing this, you can live a longer life.”

The commissioner commended NASCO group of companies for proving to be pacesetters by sponsorship the programme, and urged other multinational corporations in the state to emulate that.

Lapang also lauded Plateau Amateur Cycling Association, for partnering with NASCO to ensure the success of the competition.

Haroun Audu, NASCO Group’s Marketing Communication Advisor, said that the cycling awareness campaign was aimed at reviving and strengthening public interest and participation in cycling.

In the words of Haroun Audu:

“This effort by NASCO Group signals a deliberate intervention to support committed amateur cyclists in Plateau.”

4 UNILAG Students Win 2018 Coca-Cola Global Management Challenge

A team of four students from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) has emerged winners of the maiden edition of the Coca-Cola Global Management Challenge after six weeks of intense competition.

The team made up of final year UNILAG students include: Abdullahi Salimat, Department of Finance; Adeniyi Talabi, Department of Systems Engineering; Oyekan Idris, Department of Accounting and Olubodun Sulaiman, Department of Business Administration came tops in the competition for their innovative business solutions.

They will represent Nigeria for the first time at the international finale coming up in Dubai, in April, 2018.

Continue reading 4 UNILAG Students Win 2018 Coca-Cola Global Management Challenge

Winners Of National Science, Technology And Innovation Expo 2018 [Abuja]

Winners have emerged in the National Science, Technology and Innovation Expo 2018, which held from March 5-9, 2018, with the theme “Fast-tracking sustainable development of Nigeria through science and technology”.

Continue reading Winners Of National Science, Technology And Innovation Expo 2018 [Abuja]