From over 19 thousand registered candidates to 81 finalists through 15 weeks of intense competition, and only one student earns bragging right as “Best Science Student in Nigeria.”

This is the story of Oyindamola Aje, a 16-year-old student of Jesuit Memorial College, Port-Harcourt who emerged overall winner of the InterswitchSPAK 2.0, winning a N7.5 million worth of University scholarship spread over five years, including a laptop and monthly stipend for five years!

The competition which held in Lagos saw Oyindamola defeat eight other students to come tops.

Oyindamola who didn’t expect to clinch the ultimate prize recounted his experience throughout his stay on the competition. Oyindamola said “I enjoyed every part of the competition but as we drew closer to the finals, I was really anxious to know who the winner would be”.

Anxiety satisfied, Oyindamola expressed his gratitude to  Interswitch Group for providing a platform that allows students  explore their talents and skills to positively impact the nation.  He also extended his gratitude to his parents, teachers and friends who played a vital role in his success story.

Highlighting the importance of science and technology to the Nigerian economy, Mitchell Elegbe, Founder/GMD Interswitch Group, while addressing the nine finalists before the competition began, urged the students to broaden and challenge themselves to think about the impact they can make in Nigeria using science and technology. He advised young graduates to develop and explore skills that can help them become entrepreneurs rather than job seekers.

He reiterated the commitment of the company towards education, noting that education is an important investment for the future of the children in Africa.

However, Oyindamola was not only the student who received ‘future-switching’ prizes from Interswitch Group, the first runner-up, Oluwatobi Ojo of Apt Scholars Universal College, Ogun State won N4 million worth of scholarship spread over three years, and a laptop. The second runner-up, 15-year-old Onyekachi Madumere from Apt Scholars Universal Secondary School, Ogun State also received N1 million worth of university scholarship for one year, and a laptop.

Other beneficiaries include:  teachers from the schools of the top three students, the Innovation Challenge winners -Team Earth.

The future is STEM, and if Oyindamola did it, you can too!

Get your school to register its best science students, including you, for InterswitchSPAK 3.0, visit https://www.interswitchspak.com/.