Four student teams from Nigerian universities have won a combined ₦235 million in grants after emerging as the top performers at the inaugural Nigerian Engineering Olympiad (NEO), a nationwide competition aimed at transforming innovative campus ideas into commercially viable solutions.
The winning institutions are Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUT), Yola, the University of Ibadan (UI), the University of Jos (UniJos), and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
MAUT emerged as the overall winner, receiving ₦50 million in seed funding. UI secured second place with ₦30 million, UniJos came third with ₦20 million, while UNN finished fourth and received ₦10 million.
In addition to the cash grants, the winning teams will benefit from technical mentorship, business development support, industry partnerships, and other commercialization opportunities designed to help transform their innovations into market-ready products.
The competition also rewarded the universities’ engineering faculties. MAUT received funding for the construction of a Centre of Excellence Building, while UI and UNN were awarded institutional grants of ₦75 million and ₦50 million, respectively, to strengthen engineering education and research.
MAUT clinched the top prize with “Ubuntu Sapphire,” a decentralized, community-driven rapid alert and security intelligence system designed for rural and peri-urban communities where limited internet access, inadequate security infrastructure, and widespread use of feature phones pose significant security challenges.
UI’s “Aurora Birth” earned second place with an innovative HealthTech device developed to reduce neonatal deaths caused by birth asphyxia, particularly in low-resource hospitals and healthcare facilities.
UniJos secured third position with “Sentra,” a solar-powered, AI-driven crop diagnostic solution capable of detecting pests, diseases, and soil nutrient deficiencies before visible symptoms appear, enabling farmers to take early preventive action.
UNN’s “Flameless” finished fourth with a modular power-generation platform that converts associated gas into electricity, providing affordable and reliable energy for households, businesses, and communities.
According to the judges, the four winning projects distinguished themselves through their practicality, scalability, commercial potential, and ability to address critical national challenges in security, healthcare, agriculture, and energy.
The maiden edition of the competition attracted 984 students, who formed 375 teams representing 80 tertiary institutions across Nigeria. Launched in November 2025, the Olympiad saw 30 teams advance to the regional stage before the final four winners emerged. Projects were assessed based on technical excellence, innovation, scalability, commercial viability, societal impact, and sustainability.
Speaking at the grand finale in Lagos, the immediate past President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Margaret Oguntola, described the Olympiad as a strategic initiative aimed at positioning young engineers at the forefront of Nigeria’s technological and industrial development.
She said the competition was created to bridge the gap between the abundant engineering talent in Nigerian tertiary institutions and the country’s aspirations for technological advancement and industrialization.
Also speaking, Engr. Olutosin Ogunmola, who represented the NSE on the NEO Steering Committee, noted that engineering remains a major factor separating developed nations from developing ones. He added that introducing a competitive platform similar to talent and reality television shows would help improve engineering education and increase public recognition of young innovators.
Country Director of Enactus Nigeria, the programme’s implementing partner, Michael Ajayi, stressed the importance of supporting youth-led innovation, noting that Nigeria must intentionally harness the creativity, technical expertise, and entrepreneurial abilities of young people to solve real-world challenges, create sustainable businesses, and generate employment.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), the initiator of the competition, also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the programme. Representing the Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Mr. Silas Ajimijaye, urged stakeholders to work together to ensure the winning innovations progress from prototypes into commercially successful products capable of improving lives across Nigeria.
