Paradigm Initiative Nigeria hosted the South-South edition of #TENTWorkshop at the University of Uyo from August 13^th– 14^th 2015. The two-day event was attended by students from the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) and University of Calabar (UNICAL).Day 1 of the workshop took place at ELF Lecture Theatre, UNIUYO and featured a keynote speech from the Director of ICT, University of Uyo- Mrs Eno Ekpa, followed by an introduction to online work by PIN’s TENT/DigitalJobs Project Manager, Adebola Agbaje.

At the workshop, the students learnt about the need to build an Entrepreneurial mind set and how to access relevant opportunities from Tech experts. Speakers at the workshop include Aniedi Udo-Obong, Country General Manager AfroCabs, Editi Effiong, Chief Executive Officer Anakle and ‘Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director Paradigm Initiative Nigeria. The speakers engaged the students in topics ranging from Software engineering to building successful Start-ups.

The day 2 of #TENTWorkshop held at the PTDF IT lab at UNIUYO and 78 students participated. The day kicked off with a 2-hour practical coding session facilitated by Aniedi Udo-Obong. The session was remarkable as it was a first-time coding experience for some of the students.

Following the coding session, 8 students pitched their tech ideas and were given constructive feedback by the judges on making their products relevant and penetrating the IT market in Nigeria. Remarkably at the workshop, a group presentation by “The12team” won a year internship opportunity with Anakle beginning from November 2015. Also, a first year student, Bassey Etim and a final year student, Idongesit Usenideh were offered internship opportunities with Anakle for giving an exceptional response to the question “Why did the chicken cross the road?”Andy Ishet, a student presenter will enjoy close mentorship opportunity with Aniedi Udo-Obong; while Victor Evans won in multiples- a Raspberry Pi from Aniedi Udo-Obong, a nomination ticket to the Budapest competition from ‘Gbenga Sesan, with a show of interest in his project by Anakle.

According to Williams, a Computer Engineering student from University of Uyo, “this edition of the #TENTWorkshop is an eye-opener for me and many of my colleagues, we will love to bring PIN back to Uyo”

TENT/Digital Jobs Project Manager, Adebola Agbaje also announced that TENT Gathering 2015 (#TENT2015) will hold at Nnamdi Azikwe University, Awka, Anambra State from Tuesday 24^th –Thursday 26^th November, 2015.

Mallam Yero