Students earn valuable training outside school

Being a triangular student – one whose activities revolve around the classroom, the library, and the hostel – may earn students First Class grades, but participating in extra-curricular activities may benefit them better in the long run.

This was the experience of students who participated in the IdeaThrophy competition organised by Unilever Nigeria to challenge undergraduates to think outside the box and proffer creative solutions to problems.

Members of the winning team from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, were each rewarded with ipad 3. They will visit South Africa to meet the leaders of firm, and, later London to represent Nigeria in the global edition of the competition.

Team Aspire, from the Federal University of Minna, came second in the competition and its members went home with laptops, while members of third placed Team Deluxe Brains got Blackberry phones.

University of Lagos (UNILAG) Team Achievers may have been disappointment that their campaign with pupils of the UNILAG Staff School failed to impress judges enough to earn them the top three prizes. Nevertheless, they will not forget the experience they have gained and the privileged opportunity they got to rub minds with the top management of Unilever and other respected professionals during the boot camp organised for finalists. 

Joseph Adebayo, a 200-Level Mechanical Engineering student, said of the experience: “It has been great, especially at the boot camp.  It was an avenue to build myself.  We learnt about leadership, time management, effective presentation and communication skills and how to relate socially.”

His teammate, Peace Omoruyi, said though stressful, participating in the competition made him learn about things outside engineering.

“It was stressful.  We had to do a lot of research and stayed up all night. We had to leave our comfort zone. But the experience has been worth it. I know a lot of things I am going home with. I have also met with a lot of Nigerians and they have given us experiences from their lives,”he said.

The winning team, made up of Brenda Agidi, Owolabi Opeyemi and Adeyemi Williams, developed the best campaign to market Lifebuoy soap, one of the organisation’s products, to young people and communities among the seven teams that featured in the final of the competition at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja.

But had they not won the competition, the trio who went by the name “Team Lifebuoy Musketeers,” would not trade the wealth of experience they gained practisng their ideas on the field, and learning from seasoned professionals during the boot camp with the time and money they invested in participating.  

Brenda, a 400-Level student of Geology, who said she and others contributed N73,000 to implement the case study given them by Unilever, said the knowledge she gained is waiting to explode.

“I would not have felt any regrets if we had not won because what we have learnt is more valuable than the gifts. 

“We are grateful for the advice we got from personalities, such as Prof Pat Utomi.  It is not just about academics,” she said.

Unilever’s Human Resource Manager, Mrs Tolulope Agiri, said the aim of the competition is to bridge the gap between town and gown.

“This is not just about winning the competition.  We believe the students have changed because of this competition.  This has been a journey where we engaged managers of Unilever to speak with them,” she said.

Managing Director of Unilever, Mr Thabo Mabe said the competition is a way of giving back to the society.

“The IdeaTrophy is all about saying thank you to Nigeria. We are here to work together to create a better future for all,” he said.