The Executive Vice Chairman of National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASANI ), Khalil Suleiman Halilu, has restated the commitment of the agency to closing gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM ) among young girls.
Halilu stated this Tuesday at the award ceremony of Developing Engineering Leaders Through Her (DELT-Her) organized by NASANI in collaboration with The Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer (PICTT) – DELTA 2 Programme.
Represented by coordinating director, planning and business development Dr. Nonyem Onyechi, he said the agency will continue to create enabling environment for the girl child to excel in the field of science and technology.
Blueprint reports that during the event, six female inventors were presented with cheques ranging from N10 million to N19 million for their ground breaking inventions in the field of science and technology.
They are Engr. Abisola Ayomide Olayiwola, Engr. Francisca Ijeoma Ikechukwu, and Engr. Patience Ibrahim Janda.
Others are Engr. Kudirat Jimoh, Engr. Rukkaya Abdulmutalib and Engr. Amina Ibrahim Khaleel.
He said the DELT- Her initiative is more than just a programme, but a movement dedicated to closing the gender imbalance in the field of technology and engineering.
He said: “Today, we don’t only celebrate innovation and excellence but we also challenge the long standing narrative that surrounding engineering and technology in Nigeria.
“Today we celebrate the great achievements that emerge when young women are equipped with tools and platforms to excel in a traditionally male dominated environment.
“From the moment we opened the application portal, over one hundred and fifty applications flood in from across the nation. Each representing unique dreams, passion and ground breaking ideas.
“After and extensive process, we are proud to announce the emergence of six outstanding projects.
“The winning projects have earned their place because they challenged the status quo and they possess the potential to solve real world problems in a way that we leave a lasting impact.”
Earlier in his welcome, the PICTT chairman, Dr. Muhammed Dahiru, lamented that only about 5 percent of women are involved in engineering in Nigeria against the global average of 28 percent.
He however, noted that with the right support, Nigeria can close the gap.
“In the statistics that we have only about 5 percent of women are involved in engineering in Nigeria and the global average is 28.
“So you can see we are far below the global average.
“So the best way is for us to support women to participate in engineering ecosystem is for us to catch them young, provide them with mentorship, give them funding , comnect them with partners that will help them upscale their skills and help them convert their ideas into products and commercialize the products.
“This will enable the country stop importing some of the things we use to import.
“From the exhibition we had today, you can see that all of them are females. By the time we give them the support, mentorship and funding, the sky will be their limits, ” he said.
Speaking with journalists after a tour of exhibitions by selected Junior Secondary Schools in the Federal Capital Territory, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Uche Nnaji, said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to catching them young in the field and sciene and technology.
He said: “What we are doing here is catching them young. What we have seen here today is amazing. We are talking about Jss 1, 2 and 3 students doing this fantastic work.
“This government under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to catching them young. That is what Mr. President has instructed us to do. When you catch them young, by the time they come of age, Nigeria will be a changed place.
“Basically, we are enjoying a lot of support from Mr. President that is why we are doing what we are doing.
