Speak Out for Engineering (SOfE) Competition, Ninth Nigeria Heat

This year’s Speak Out for Engineering (SOfE) competition had the theme, “Application of Artificial Intelligence in Engineering Devices”.

The 9^th Nigeria HEAT was organised by Ikechukwu Okoli (YM Representative for Nigeria) Ifeanyichukwu U. Onyenanu (YM Chair, Middle East and Africa), Emmanuel Ikpatt (Nigeria YM Section Chair), Daniel Ajare (IMechE Nigeria, South East, and South-South Coordinator) and other Nigeria section executive members.

The event had several notable persons and representatives present that included: Steven Hoo – International Young Members Committee (IYMC) Chair, Hassan N. Ansari (Immediate past Regional Chairman, IMechE Middle East and Africa), and Dr. Mohammed. Uneeb (IMechE Middle East and Africa Regional Chairman).

A seven-man panel made up the judges for the event. They were; Prof. Robinson Ejilah (Chief Judge of the competition), Mr. Saiyid Najam Rizvi (Toastmaster), Prof. C. C. Nwobi-Okoye, Qamar Sheraz (Toastmaster), Engr. Osazoduwa Agboneni, Raza Khan (Toastmaster) and Barrister Ghauri (Toastmaster).

A total of five entries were received from across the universities in Nigeria. Therefore, the competition had all five eager and excited presenters representing their respective universities. They were Duruji Francis Chigozie (Federal University Otueke Bayelsa), Anene DivineFavour .C (Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Anambra), Muoleeh, Samuel Uzodinma (Imo State University), David Echefulam Echendu (Niger Delta University) and Ikwuegbu Ihuoma Emmanuella (University of Port Harcourt).

Upon eventual commencement of the event, Nigeria YM Section Chair (Emmanuel Ikpatt) gave an Opening remark, this was followed by a welcome note from Engr. Dr. Ifeanyichukwu Onyenanu (M/E&A YM Chair). Steven Hoo then gave a short speech on IMechE, Young Members Initiatives after this Chief judge Prof. Robinson Ejilah iterated the SOfE guidelines and commenced the presentation proper.

Ikwuegbu Ihuoma Emmanuella (University of Port Harcourt) took to the floor, with her presentation titled “Sci-verse: The Engineering World of The Future”. Next was David Echefulam Echendu (Niger Delta University) with a presentation titled: “Optimising Energy Usage and Promoting Sustainability through AI Integration in Engineering Devices”. Next was Anene DivineFavour .C (Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Anambra), with the topic ‘‘Application of Computer Vision, Face Recognition and Face Recognition Models in Poultry Farm Diseases’’. Duruji Francis Chigozie (Federal University Otueke Bayelsa) then took the stage with his topic ‘‘Energy Dome’’ and finally “Design and Development of an Artificial Intelligence-Based Robot Assistant” by Muoleeh and Samuel Uzodinma from Imo State University. Follow-up questions were then asked to each of the presenters after their presentations.

With the presentations concluded, the judges were left with the challenging task of compiling marks and producing the highest scorers. After much deliberation and concessions, the panel reached a consensus. The Chief Judge Prof Robinson Ejilah gave the details of the contestants’ marks and the eventual winners.

The 2nd Place winner with a prize of £200 was awarded to Muoleeh, Samuel Uzodinma from Imo State University for his presentation while the 1st Place winner with a prize of £300 was awarded to Ihuoma Emmanuella Ikwuegbu from the University of Port Harcourt.

A short speech on how to prepare a candidate for good communication and presentation was then delivered by Hassan Ansari. He also talked about the need for engineers to equip themselves on how to read a financial reports, contracts, and legal skills, and how organisations work. Okoli Ikechukwu gave a closing remark citing the need to properly prepare the competitors subsequently and also highlighted the infrastructural glitches experienced while getting ready for SOfE 2023 and how to surmount them. 

Finally, this year’s SOfE Competition was indeed competitive. Having similar presentations to deliver and the efforts by the various contestants to ensure clarity and distinctiveness has presented this competition as one worthy of commendation. With the outcome of the competition, it is hoped that engineering students will not relent in their technical pursuit to generate more innovative methods to harness and advance the engineering profession and to achieve the goal of proffering solutions to current issues. The winner of the competition will now prepare to represent Nigeria at the Middle East and Africa Regional finals.

Our sincere regards go to the unbiased judges and special guests for your support and for taking the time to be a part of this event.

Our hearty congratulation goes to Ikwuegbu Ihuoma Emmanuella for winning the ninth edition of the Nigeria Heat.