The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr ‘Bosun Tijani, has announced the launch of the Young Innovative Builders (YIB) programme for tertiary students to apply for a chance to win a laptop or tablet.
The Minister made this known in a post on X a couple of days ago. According to him, “the future of the digital economy that we are building, will be sustained by the young innovators that we empower today. In line with that, I recognise the important role that initiatives like Industrial Training programmes play in shaping the competence of young Nigerians and providing practical experience in the application of their knowledge.”
“We have seen a number of promising and innovative technical projects built during the Industrial Training programme that align with our objectives to grow our digital economy. This is why we are launching the Young Innovative Builders (YIB) programme, for tertiary students to apply for a chance to win a laptop or tablet as they further develop their innovations,” he added.
The YIB programme will showcase and reward innovative projects built by young Nigerians that align with the Ministry’s objectives to grow the digital economy. The top 48 projects in each state and the FCT will receive laptops while the next best 40 will receive tablets.
Dr. Tijani said that the 3,256 devices (48 Laptops and 40 Tablets per state of the federation and the FCT) that will be presented, come from an existing allocation by the NCC for learners in tertiary institutions to support the learning and application of technology in Nigeria.
Eligibility Criteria
- You must be a student in a Nigerian Tertiary Institution enrolled in your first degree
- You should have designed, developed, built or deployed an innovative or tech-enabled project/product that leverages digital technology
- You must still be a student 3 months after the competition’s end date (December 22nd, 2023)
- Applicants must have gone through an Industrial training programme
- The project should address real-world problems in society
Application Process
- Applications opens on November 22, 2023 and closes on December 6, 2023
- Applications must be submitted through the designated application form on the website
- Applications will be reviewed by a diverse selection committee with representation from academia, industry experts, the Ministry and other stakeholders, using a standard grading system
- The final list of successful applications will be published via official channels on/before December 22, 2023
Selection Criteria
Applications will be reviewed by a diverse selection committee. The selection criteria will include:
- Novelty and Originality: How innovative and unique is the project relative to existing alternatives
- Impact and Relevance: Does the project address real-world problems in the local communities or country
- Feasibility and scalability: What is the practicality of the project and the potential for it to be deployed at scale
- Quality of presentation and documentation: What is the quality of the presentation in describing the process of creating the solution and the aesthetics of the final product
Click here to apply
