Some secondary school students from five schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Monday, presented innovative and entrepreneurial ideas to solve societal problems.

The presentations were made to officials of Brunel University, London, via Zoom, under the Nigerian-Brunel Innovation Challenge in Abuja.

The participating schools were Government Secondary School (GSS) Gudun-Karya, GSS Gwagwalada, GSS Kubwa, GSS Kwali, and Glisten International Academy, Abuja.

The challenge, titled “Building a Better Abuja,” encourages young Nigerians to explore their local environment, identify needs, and develop solutions using entrepreneurial skills.

Students from GSS Gudun-Karya presented a sustainable agriculture idea called “Project Green Tuition,” which aims to raise funds for education, especially among students from low-income households.

The project integrated palm farming with educational support, using income from palm products like palm oil, palm kernel, broom, and basket to pay school fees, targeting N2.17 million annually from 29 palm trees.

GSS Gwagwalada students introduced an idea on plastic waste management and recycling.

The concept involved collecting plastic waste, sterilising it, and transforming it into useful products such as bags, flower vases, skipping ropes, baskets, torchlights, and pencil and brush holders, room decorations.

The initiative aimed to provide sustainable income for the students while addressing plastic waste in local communities.

The GSS Kubwa team, “Team Lumina,” presented a mobile application that connects school dropouts with individuals, NGOs, and institutions to help them return to school and complete their education.

The app would generate revenue through subscriptions and downloads.

Students from GSS Kwali introduced a nutrition-rich poultry feed project aimed at improving poultry production in communities.

The feed is made from locally sourced ingredients like maize, papaya leaves, moringa, grain bran, soya beans, groundnut, and animal bone, and would be sold for N15,000 per 25-kilogram bag, generating a N2,000 profit margin.

The Glisten International Academy team, known as “Cleandrops Initiative Team,” proposed a low-cost water purification solution.

Their idea involved the use of chemical-free purifiers made from moringa oleifera, activated carbon, fine sand, and gravel, designed to provide affordable clean water to residents.

Dr Mohammed Ladan, Director/Secretary of the FCT Secondary Education Board, said the programme was collaboration between Brunel University and the FCT to foster entrepreneurship, sustainability, and innovation among Nigerian students.

He noted that 26 schools participated in the competition, out of which the five schools that scaled to the final stage emerged and presented their innovative ideas for assessment.

Ladan said that the challenge was designed to empower students to develop sustainable businesses that could thrive in both local and international markets.

He added that the FCT Administration was committed to ensuring that no student would graduate from secondary school without acquiring a skill.

“With these innovative and creative ideas displayed by the students, I am very confident that we will achieve that.

“We are also exposing students to international packaging for global markets, so whatever they produce will meet international standards,” he said.

Mr Musa Zuru, the coordinator of the competition, highlighted that the goal of the challenge was to uncover hidden talents among school students, enabling them to initiate and nurture business ideas for the benefit of their communities.

Mrs Helen Idakoji, Coordinator of the FCT-Brunel Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programme, stated that the innovation challenge would become an annual event aimed at sharpening students’ creativity and critical thinking.

She said that the top three schools would be exposed to industries in London, where they would receive support to turn their ideas into tangible products for both national and international markets. (NAN)

Edited by Abiemwense Moru