By Angela Atabo
The Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) has urged engineers and stakeholders to embrace adaptive systems, sustainable energy solutions and innovative approaches to infrastructure development across Nigeria and nationally.
The President of APWEN, Chinyere Igwegbe, made the call at its 2026 International Conference, Exhibition and Annual General Meeting on Tuesday in Abuja.
The conference is themed: “Designing Adaptive Systems: Engineering Energy, Building Net-Zero, Delivering Tomorrow’s Infrastructure.”
Igwegbe said the theme was timely as climate change, energy transition, rapid urbanisation and emerging technologies continued to reshape engineering practice and influence infrastructure planning across Nigeria and Africa, alongside investment.
She said infrastructure being designed today should not only serve present needs but also respond effectively to changing demands, climate-related shocks and future challenges facing communities and cities in Nigeria nationwide.
“Adaptive systems are, at their core, systems built for resilience, system that are able to respond to shocks, to changing demand, and to a changing climate.
“As we pursue net-zero, we are not merely reducing emissions; we are reimagining how energy is generated, how cities are built, and how communities thrive.
“Nigeria, and indeed Africa, cannot be a spectator in this transition. We must be designers of it,” she said, adding that engineers must take leadership roles in shaping the transition.
She said women engineers must be at the very centre of the design table, not at its margins, and must participate fully in decisions shaping infrastructure, energy and development.
The APWEN president stressed the need for stronger collaborations, saying no single institution or profession could deliver future infrastructure alone, and urging stakeholders to break institutional silos and work together effectively.
Igwegbe also called for greater support for women engineers, noting that women continued demonstrating excellence across engineering disciplines, including energy, structural design, water, transportation and digital infrastructure and related workplaces.
She urged government agencies, corporate organisations, development partners and professionals to support programmes, sponsor training and create pathways for women to assume leadership positions across the engineering profession and industry nationwide.
“When you support a woman engineer, you do not support one person; you strengthen an entire profession and uplift a whole community,” she said, urging sustained support for engineers across Nigeria.
Igwegbe further called for increased investment in young engineers, collegiate members and girls participating in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) outreach programmes across the country to strengthen future engineering leadership.
In his keynote address, former Minister of Aviation, Dr Babatunde Omotoba, explained that adaptive systems were systems capable of automatically changing their behaviour in response to changes in their environment nationwide.
Omotoba said energy engineering involved producing, transmitting, conserving and using energy efficiently and cleanly, including through renewable sources such as solar, wind and hydro, supporting infrastructure today and tomorrow for development.
He explained that net-zero involved reducing greenhouse gas emissions to near zero, with remaining emissions balanced by their removal through natural or other means, supporting Nigeria’s energy transition and future widely.
He said delivering tomorrow’s infrastructure meant developing infrastructure capable of adapting to changing environmental and societal conditions, while meeting needs and supporting sustainable development and strengthening resilience and prosperity widely.
He said engineers would increasingly need to work across traditional professional boundaries, with knowledge of digital technology, renewable energy, environmental management, data and automation becoming increasingly important in modern engineering practice.
Omotoba advocated stronger collaboration among universities, research institutions, professional organisations, government and the private sector to move Nigerian research and engineering ideas into practical applications and strengthen innovation and technology transfer.
On women in engineering, Omotoba said the future of engineering in Nigeria should include the full participation of women and urged stakeholders to encourage more girls to pursue engineering throughout Nigeria.
Omotoba urged engineers to build infrastructure that was useful, reliable and capable of adapting to change, while using energy resources wisely, embracing technologies, investing in research and creating opportunities for development.
He said such opportunities should particularly target young engineers and women, who must be supported to contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s engineering future and national development efforts across the country and society.
Also speaking, the President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Ali Rabiu, commended APWEN for sustaining the conference as a platform for professional interaction, knowledge-sharing and knowledge exchange nationwide.
He said the platform also encouraged strategic reflection on engineering’s role in national development, while promoting professional engagement among engineers and other stakeholders seeking practical solutions to emerging challenges and cooperation.
Rabiu, represented by the 8th President of APWEN, Dr Patricia Opene-Odili, urged APWEN to continue strengthening mentorship and leadership development for engineers across Nigeria and within institutions and professional bodies nationwide.
He said the conference theme challenged engineers to look beyond current circumstances and deliberately design for Nigeria’s future, while anticipating emerging environmental, technological and societal demands through sustained support and innovation.
He also emphasised the importance of women engineers in shaping the country’s future across areas including energy, digital technology and environmental engineering, among other critical sectors for sustainable development and progress. (NAN)
Edited by Abiemwense Moru