Jubril Dokun, a 16-year-old student of Brainfield College, Salolo, Lagos State, has emerged winner of the third edition of the InterswitchSPAK National Science Competition held on February 5, 2022.
Contesting with over 18,000 students from various secondary schools in Nigeria, Jubril Dokun won the 13-week educational show (run on both terrestrial and domestic television stations) to clinch the first prize of ₦7.5 million in scholarships, among other prizes.
The duo of Ayanlade Jesuferanmi of Obafemi Awolowo University International School, Ile-Ife, Osun State; and Omoniyi Qudus of Scholars Universal Secondary School, Ota, Ogun State, clinched the second and third prizes, receiving ₦4 million and ₦1 million in scholarships respectively, among other prizes.
In his opening remarks, the Managing Director, Payment Processing & Switching (Interswitch Purepay), Mr. Akeem Lawal, stated:
“As our contribution to closing this gap, we introduced InterswitchSPAK in 2018 because we realized the critical role of STEM education to our country, and the continent, and its importance to the future of Africa.
Our objectives are clear – to prioritise STEM in the education of the Nigerian child; fan the flames of interest in STEM education, where it already exists; and to promote and reward excellence in this field of study.”
As a pioneer tech company in Nigeria, Interswitch said it remains committed to exploring the advantages of technology, as it maintains its drive of creating a prosperous Nigeria and by extension, Africa. To advance this goal, Interswitch is encouraging more African students to take up STEM courses, as this has proven to be one of the drivers of thriving economies around the world.
InterswitchSPAK, a collaborative effort of Interswitch and JustMedia Productions, is a CSR initiative that is held in Nigeria and Kenya annually. It has produced other winners such as Akachukwu Anumudu of Apostolic Faith Secondary School, Lagos and Oyindamola Aje of Jesuit Memorial College, Rivers in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
