Tosin Clegg
Africa’s brightest young minds took the stage at the first edition of Battle of the Bots, which held recently in Lagos.
Powered by Nigenius, a smart web application that provides teachers with quality resources and connects them to learners for tutoring, the competition had over 1000 students and dozens of schools participating.
As Africa’s foremost interschool robotics competition, the atmosphere was electric.
From dynamic primary school showcases to the unexpected three-way tie in the secondary category, every moment reinforced the fact that today’s students are not preparing to catch up; they are already shaping the future. From the ingenuity displayed in each robot to the well-curated sessions on education, innovation, and emerging technologies, it was a clear indication that the future is already in motion, and we are not just participating, we are leading.
On how the selection was conducted, CEO of Nigenius Technologies, Mr. Kelechi Uchenna said: “First of all, we put out a registration link and after they registered, we had about 109 schools register. We now did a very rigorous selection process to come up with 38 semi-finalists. Then we now took them through the process of building their robots, getting their robots ready, sourcing their materials, and finally had 33 to partake in the competition.”
“With this competition, we are trying to fill the ignorance of STEM education. A lot of schools are not aware of the potential, the power that this has on Nigeria and our continent. Africa needs about 23 million stem professionals to solve its developmental problems by 2030.”
Key voices such as Dr. Adetola Salau, Bekere Amassoma, Faiz Bashir, Chinyelu Akpa, Idris Oladipo, and Mrs. Abisola Obasanya led engaging discussions on education policy and innovation, offering timely insights that addressed the current challenges and opportunities within the sector.
A standout moment was the panel session on “Using STEM to Spark Creativity and Entrepreneurship,” which brought together industry leaders including Abolaji Osime, Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, Modupe Adeyinka-Oni, and Olatubosun Alake. The session, moderated by Rhoda Odigboh, was widely praised for its depth, clarity, and actionable perspectives.
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