One Innovation Hub, Offa, Kwara State, on Friday concluded its five-day Hackathon programme which started on August 28.
The participating schools were Offa Grammar School, St Claire’s Girls School, Nawar-Ud-Deen Grammar School, Ansar-Ud-Deen Grammar School, Anglican Comprehensive College.
Fourty (40) other children were also certified by ONEIH under Kids Koding Klub (KKK) and ten (10) others courtesy of a partnership with Arewa Foundation, as facilitated by the 2022 winner of Arewa of Offaland, Ms Halimat Olamide Ibrahim.
During the Friday presentations which was witnessed by teachers from these schools and stakeholders in the society, the students spoke on their projects which bordered on real-time challenges facing the community and how digital literacy can be used to tackle them. They also showcased what they have learned on various aspects of technology, including software development, artificial intelligence, mobile app development among others.
The students, divided into seven groups, did presentations on different topics such as; “Offa Community Safety and Crime Prevention: Developing a community-based crime reporting app that enables residents to share incidents, access safety tips, and collaborate with local law enforcement”, “Offa Local Sustainability Initiatives: Creating a platform that encourages sustainable practices within the community, offers recycling resources, and connects individuals interested in environmental projects.”, “Offa Small Business Support Network: Building a digital hub that ass ists entrepreneurs in accessing resources, mentorship, and funding opportunities to promote the growth of local businesses”, “Offa Healthcare Access and Information: Developing an app that provides information about local healthcare providers, allows patients to schedule appointments, and offers telemedicine options”, “Offa Food Security and Distribution: Designing a system that connects local food banks, surplus food providers, and volunteers to ensure efficient and equitable food distribution to those in need”, “Offa Digital Skill Empowerment: Building an online platform with educational resources and interactive courses that enhance digital literacy skills among community members” and “Offa Community Health and Wellbeing: Designing a wellness app that offers fitness challenges, nutrition information, mental health resources, and connections to local health
professionals.”
Alhaji Taofeek Olatinwo, the Chief Executive Office of ONEIH, stated that the 5-day Hackathon programme was in line with the organization’s mission statement which is to make Offa and her environment residents tech-savvy.
“ONEIH was established to make Offa and environs to be the center of technological growth and economic advancement in Africa and beyond. It came on the backdrop of transforming Offa into a smart city. With this, we aspire, to put our children on the forth in this technological advancement.
“We have the goal of having 80% literacy for youths and working population which enable employability within and outside Nigeria. We also want to ensure we have 80% service within the community with the digital background. To achieve this and more, we realized that the youths have to take the lead. That’s why the 5-day Hackathon programme was conceived. We chose five schools to take the lead in this. These schools will be the core for us in establishing this. This will be extended to other schools as well.
“We have done trainings for them in artificial intelligence, web programming, machine learning, animation, cyber, Java and all the key new tools and new designs that are available in the world today.
“We also did trainings on PCB (printed circuit board).”
Olatinwo also disclosed that the proposed One Innovation Hub Kola Balogun Innovation Center would be opened by the end of the year.
All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) also applauded ONEIH on the initiative.
Speaking on behalf of ANCOPSS, Mr. Kolawole Emmanuel, the principal of Anglican Comprehensive College (ACC) Offa said: “on behalf of ANCOPSS, I want to appreciate this programme. Like the saying ‘catch them young’, this thing is good for Offa. When these students get to their various schools they will share what they have learner here to others. And this would encourage students who are so serious because we discover that some of students nowadays are not serious. (sic) Said something about our students who are more or less yahoo boys. Yahoo boys are not exclusive to higher institutions now; they are also in secondary schools. Even in primary schools.
“With the kind of programme this organization has put in place, it will go a long way to discourage their engagement in social vices. Some of these students are very good in ICT. In they handle android phones, there are so many things I don’t even know that you will see these students do on them. So if you can catch them young as you have started now, don’t relent in your efforts.”
Other schools were represented by Mr Bello Bashir (Nawar-Ud-Deen Grammar School), Mrs Kolawole G.O (St Claire’s Girls School), Mr. Fashola S.O (Ansar-Ud-Deen Grammar School) and Mr. Bello A.S (Offa Grammar School)
