NEO Awards N110 Million for Engineering Innovations

The Nigerian Engineering Olympiad (NEO) awarded a total of N110 million in seed funding to four Nigerian universities for their innovative engineering projects. The grand final took place in Lagos, where Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUT) emerged as the overall winner, receiving a grant of N50 million for their project, "Ubuntu Sapphir," which focuses on decentralized community power and rapid alert security intelligence networks for rural and peri-urban communities.

The University of Ibadan secured second place with a prize of N30 million for their health technology solution aimed at reducing neonatal deaths due to birth asphyxia. The University of Jos finished third, winning N20 million for their solar power and artificial intelligence-enabled crop diagnostic device.

The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, placed fourth and received N10 million for their flameless modular power generation platform. In addition to cash prizes, the winning teams will receive technical mentorship and business development support to commercialize their innovations.

The competition attracted 984 student participants from 80 tertiary institutions nationwide.