The DUMENA Technology Group, a technology education company, 500,000, 300,000 and 200,000 are up for grabs in AI-Robotics competition for children aged 10 to 18 years within the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) in the Federal Capital Territory.
Mr Kingsley Ezejiaku, Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, made this known while briefing newsmen on Sunday in Abuja.
He said that the competition which would have various schools and students as participants, is aimed at inspiring the next generation of engineers and technology enthusiasts in the country.
He said that it had become imperative for Nigeria to celebrate creativity, innovations and intelligence among its young ones, in other to be aper with their peers in the western world.
“I have always been fascinated by the power of technology and education to transform societies and I believe that when you combine both, we can achieve a whole lot of work in Africa, from what we see today to the Africa we all want to see.
“We choose the championship because we have spent time working with kids and we have learnt that children love to build things and they love a challenge.
“So one of the best ways to teach a child is get them to build something based on what you are teaching them.
“That is why we decided to use a championship to drive this thing because when a child knows that he can possibly win a prize, he can work with other people and make new friends, it becomes more exciting for them.
“It is that excitement that we want to channel into learning,” he said.
He added that the competition which will run from February to April., would have the first three winners and their schools going home with 500,000, 300,000 and 200,000 respectively.
He added that interested schools can register their wards on https://bit.ly/robotics-championship-register.
Prof. Bell Ihua, Chairman, Advisory Board, DUMENA Technology Group, said that the organisation believes in the power of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, in solving the country’s challenges.
“What we are doing is organising this championship that will bring students from various schools in the city of Abuja together to help us discover some new talents, new ideas that will create solutions to problems that not just face Nigeria alone but faces Africa.
“The world is changing now, data analytics is big, we are here for real and we are here to stay, in the next few years, we will be moving into other locations in other states.
“Tech can solve every problem we have in this country, if we allow it and the good thing about tech is that it is an enabler, amplifier, enhancer.
“So whatever sector, be it in agriculture, aviation, education, tech can be a great solution to the challenges we face in the country,” he added.
For his part, Mr Emeka Chukwu, a parent whose child has interest in learning artificial intelligence, commended the organisers for the initiative.
“After the championship, I am sure it will bring forth a lot of new things.
“We need thousands of this kind of initiative in the country to bootstrap us beyond where we are now,” he said.(NAN)
