From left: Representative of the EVC/CEO of National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, Dr. Mrs. Nonyem Onyechi; Chairman, Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer, Dr. Dahiru Mohammed; and some winners of the Developing Engineering Leaders Through Her (DELT-Her) initiative call for proposal at the presentation of cheques to the winners at the Agency’s headquarters, Abuja on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.

A total of six female Engineers under the Developing Engineering Leaders Through Her (DELT-Her) Initiative have won the N70.5million grant of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure NASENI through the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer PICTT. The grant was through call for proposal, a project under Delta-2 programme of the Agency.

Recall that NASENI had on this year’s International Women’s Day celebration held March 8, 2024, launched DELT-Her project and call for Proposal, aimed at addressing gender imbalance in the practice of engineering and technology based businesses in Nigeria by sponsoring the innovative ideas and projects by young female engineers.

The grant recipients with their projects are Engr. Rukkaya Abdulmutalib,  ‘Artificial Intelligence Censored Machine to Monitor Soil Health for Green-Houses- N3million;  Patience Ibrahim-Janda, ‘Automobile Brake Pads produced from organic waste- N10million; Engr. Amina Ibrahim Khaleel, ‘Drone for Intelligent ReaL-time Security and Target Tracking-N17.5million;  Engr. Dr. Kudirat Oyewumi Jimoh- ‘Electronic Training Board/Device for Science and Engineering Students- N16.5million; Engr. Dr Ikechukwu Ijeoma Francisca, ‘Automatic Bambara Flour Processing Machine’ N8.5million; and Engr. Abisola Ayomide Olayiwola ‘Solar-powered Snail Shelling Machine-N15million.

In his welcome address, during the grant award ceremony held at NASENI headquarters on Tuesday in Abuja, the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Agency, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu, represented by the Coordinating Director, Planning and Business Development Directorate, Dr Mrs. Nonyem Onyechi, said DELT-HER Initiative is aimed at empowering young women in engineering and technology.

He emphasised the importance of providing women with the necessary tools, platforms, and support to thrive in the fields that have traditionally been male-dominated. He said the selected projects not only challenged the status quo but also have the potential to address real-world problems.

The EVC/CEO, who affirmed that young girls belong in STEM fields and that their dreams are valid, said, “I encourage awardees to view their success as a beacon for others and the commitment to fostering environments where women can excel in engineering and technology.”

Also, speaking, Chairman of PICTT, Dr Mohammed Dahiru, said after thorough evaluation process of over 120 applications received, six outstanding innovative ideas were selected for grant to the tune of each project cost estimate and other forms of support.

The event, he said, was to sow a seed that would change Nigeria in terms of technology transfer. “We are recognising and celebrating our awardees for their amazing feats, while also recognizing the just concluded International Day of the Girl Child, with the hope to inspire the younger generation to embrace and thrive in science and engineering”, he further explained.

The awardees will receive grants to the tune of the project cost estimate, technical support, links to partners and commercialisation of the R&D institutes outputs. Some of the awardees based on their project have also been selected to participate in the forthcoming AFRI. Lab Annual gathering in Cape town, South Africa.

In a related development, in commemoration of Girl Child International Day celebration, four Junior Girls Secondary Schools exhibited their innovative and technological devices at the Agency. The schools included: Junior Secondary School Jikwoyi 1-Fueless Generator; and  Junior Secondary School Pasali –Fabrication of Mini Refinery Waste Plastics into Home Use Liquids Fuels and Gas.

The rest were: Junior Secondary School Phase 3, Gwagwalada-Ultra Modern Solar Power Sea Planting and Chemical Spraying Machine; and Junior Secondary School Kuje-Conversion of Water and petrol into methane Gas by using Pressure and Junior Secondary School Area 11 – Archimedes Screw Turbines.