IT was a long journey to victory as the second edition of the National Engineering Science and Technology Essay Competition (NESTEC) came to a close recently.
The event, anchored by Blue Apple, is an annual event usually held on the second weekend of November.
This year’s event was shifted to hold with the convener’s investiture of Michael Akan as the 20th National Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (NIEEE).
The event for this year was in conjunction with the NIEEE with nine finalists coveting the awards.
The two-in-one event was held at the NAF Conference Centre, Abuja with dignitaries from across all sectors in attendance.
The Chairman of the occasion for NESTEC and the Executive Vice Chairman, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Professor Mohammed Haruna, was represented by Coordinating Director, Engineering Infrastructure, NASENI, Professor Bagudu Gwandangaji Danshehu.
The Executive Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, was represented by Director of ICT, Mr Mohammed Bello, while the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Ali Pantami, was represented by Mr Enwerem Chidi
Others at the occasion included, Coordinator, Special Projects, the National Universities Commission (NUC), Dr Joshua Attah, the Director-General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Mallam Farouq Salim was represented by Director, Management Systems Certification, Richard Adewumi.
The President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mr Tasiu Sa’ad Gidari-Wudil, who was chairman of the occasion for the investiture, was represented by the Vice President of NSE, Mr C. I Okolie, Director Technical Standard, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Baki Wakil; Chairman, Board of Directors, Mr Kasim Ali and Managing Director, Professor Mohammed Ndaliman, both of Scientific Equipment Development Institute, (SEDI), Minna. Past chairmen of the Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers were in attendance.
The keynote address was delivered by Dr Felicia Nnena Agubata, Past President, Association of Professional Women Engineers in Nigeria (APWEN).
Agubata, who thanked the Blue Apple and NIEEE for the honour to be the keynote speaker, described the event to be a game-changing one with cross fertilisation of ideas from engineering professionals, mentors and policy makers and urged the youths to devote their thoughts to how to harness the benefits of STEM education going forward.
She said youths are unarguably at the centre of STEM learning and potentially the most likely group to benefit from STEM orientation.
“STEM proficiency remains a key driver of innovation, economic growth and ultimately national security. Some of the most coveted and scarce skills today are in the fields of cyber-security and we must find a way to rapidly percolate STEM knowledge within the ranks of our youths and indeed the entire society,” she said.
Agubata also stressed that STEM disciplines are concerned with finding solutions to societal problems, noting that years of careless depletion of natural resources had occurred throughout human history. A lack of environmental education resulted in a slew of issues.