Category: Education & Innovation

Dr. Linda Iheme, 25, is record holder of highest number of distinctions of the College of Medical Sciences, University of Benin (UNIBEN).

Dr. Linda Iheme, is a versatile and noble young lady who let her light shine from an early age and has since become a role model to many people around the world. She is a Multiple Award Winning Scholar, Laureate, Dentist, incredible Public Speaker, a passionate African Youth Activist, a very helpful Mentor and a visionary Social Entrepreneur. She is known by her top notch skills and she is totally committed to the development of African Youths. Her dexterity is second to none and she is highly motivated and demonstrates exceptional leadership qualities and humility as well as integrity, accountability, honesty and commitment to excellence.

She has a long track record of academic excellence and has won multiple awards and scholarships as a result. In 2006, she was awarded Best Graduating Student at Government Girls’ Science Senior Secondary School, FCT Abuja, Nigeria from where she proceeded to study Dental Surgery at the University of Benin, Benin-City, Edo State, Nigeria. At the University, she won the prestigious Federal Government of Nigeria Scholarship Award which covered her 6 years of study amongst other scholarship awards. owing to her strong passion for community development. To crown it all, Linda Iheme recently made an outstanding academic achievement on graduation from the University of Benin. She is now the first ever to graduate with a record of 6 distinctions in the history of the College of Medical Sciences, University of Benin,Nigeria, a feat that has never been achieved before.

Dr. Linda Iheme is the Founder and CEO of the International Initiative for Youths Inspiration, Growth & Development, a Non-profit organization dedicated to helping youths get international experience and Public Speaking skills while counselling and mentoring them on social entrepreneurship and was awarded Top 35 Under 35 CEOs by The Under 35 CEO Foundation, Young African Role Model by Ignite The Youth Africa and also honoured as Opportunity Desk’s Young Person of the Month (July 2014) owing her work through this platform and being meticulous in academic performance, a vocal community activist, health advocate and being a Young African Change maker with a relentless attitude. She is also the Founder of Catalyst Academy Nigeria, where excellence in academics, leadership and social entrepreneurship are promoted through a one-on-one mentorship method. In addition, Linda Iheme hosts the Lunch with Linda Iheme show which was inspired by her passion to inspire and motivate young people to pursue their dreams tirelessly. Through the show, she promotes the African Cultural Heritage, Moral Values among fellow youths, Entrepreneurship and Oral Hygiene.

Prior to now, Dr. Linda Iheme has worked as an International Promoter for The Rome Model United Nations and an Online Volunteer for the United Nations as well as a Volunteer Dentist for Pro-Health International and the TY Danjuma Foundation.

She is also a certified Business Coach, Mentor for the Federal Government of Nigeria YouWIN! Initiative, a consult to the Charles Loto Healthcare Development and Research Organisation U.S.A. and an Associate Fellow of The Royal Commonwealth Society, London, United Kingdom.

Dr. Linda Iheme is well travelled, well cultured, and unrelenting in her quest to achieve the unachievable, empower African Youths and beam hope to the hopeless. Her light continues to shine and she continues to be an inspiration to many around the world.

Mrs. Nkemdilim Rose Obi, has emerged winner of the 2015 Maltina Teacher of the Year Award.

Mrs. Nkemdilim Rose Obi is a Chemistry and Mathematics teacher from Federal Government Girls College (FGGC) Onitsha, Anambra.

The award is in recognition for her passionate desire to bring out the best in students and help create a workforce that would redeem the image of Nigeria.

The award instituted by the Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund was aimed at restoring the pride of teachers and the dignity of the teaching profession.

The race for the 2015 Maltina Teacher of the Year Award, which generated unprecedented interest from teachers across the country, started on Wednesday, May 20, 2015.

For emerging the overall winner, Mrs. Nkemdilim Rose Obi won ₦1 million cash prize and another ₦1 million to be paid into her account yearly for five years on every World Teachers day. Her school (FGGC, Onitsha) would be a beneficiary of infrastructural development and projects worth ₦25 million.

The second and third place winner, an English Language teacher from Federal Government College, Borno, Mohammed Binta Lawan, and a Chemistry teacher from Northern Annang Commercial School, Akwa Ibom State, Daniel Sunday Udiong, went home with ₦750,000 each, respectively.

This is aside from ₦500,000 cash prize for each of the 19 state champions, from which the last 10 and then the winners were drawn.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, the chairman of the panel of judges and Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Values in Leadership, Prof. Pat Utomi, stressed the need for teachers to be regularly exposed to training.

He said but for the groups that were competent and grounded on the job, some of the findings on teachers’ competency during the screening were disappointing.

Prof. Pat Utomi stated:

“We looked at the passion they have for teaching, their general competence on their subject and a particular philosophy of teaching that they deployed to be effective with the students, their commitment to long-term goal.

If, indeed, Nigeria desires to solve the challenges of national progress, she must educate her citizens, and teachers are central in this. We need to continually train our teachers to be able to keep them up with the speed of the world. And teachers must be encouraged to learn how to learn.”

On receiving her award, 37-year old Obi, and a graduate of Chemistry, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Anambra State, said her desire to expose students to rudiments of learning and guide them in career development is her staying power as several opportunities to leave the profession due to poor remuneration has presented itself.

Obi, a masters degree holder, whose mum was also a teacher said:

“I have succeeded in shifting from a traditional method of teaching to a discussion-based methodology. The strategy brings about a synergy between what happens in the classroom and what happens real life. It brings out analytical skills from students.

I am following my mum’s footsteps, my mum was a teacher, and I also have passion to bring out the best from students. Give them the best training and get them prepared to enter the workforce of the country. Secondary education is very important in career development, thus my resolve to give the best to students.”

19-year old Evance Ochuko Ivwurie Jnr. emerges youngest First Class graduate of Royal Holloway University of London, United Kingdom.

The accounting students of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) emerged first at the 2015 Nigerian Students Academic and Business Summit held at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

Amazing-Grace Ighedo, a nursing student receives national merit scholarship in the United States of America as the overall winner.

Amazing-Grace Ighedo of Mount Mercy University was inspired to pursue a career in nursing after surviving a ghastly car accident in Nigeria when she was just 16 years old.

She immigrated to the U.S. in 2009 to start a family with her spouse, which gave her the opportunity to pursue that dream. Despite being a mother of three with no previous background in the sciences, Amazing-Grace has been awarded the Outstanding Student Award, has been on the Dean’s List every semester, and maintained a 4.0 GPA.

She is an active volunteer at the free clinic in her community as well as her church, and she often tutors students. Her long-term career goal is to become a nurse anesthetist and work in under-served communities.

Each year, Minority Nurse awards scholarships to three outstanding nursing students. The scholarship committee received a record-breaking 107 scholarship applications.

The scholarship committee, formed by members of the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations, reviewed each application and selected its winners after much deliberation.

The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has achieved over 70 percent job placement for its trainees across major sectors of the economy in Nigeria, the Director-General, ITF, Dr. Juliet Chukkas-Onaeko has said.

She said the ITF’s focus was to ensure 100 percent employment for trainees that benefited from various trainings conducted in collaboration with the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association and other organisations.

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