.catchafrica. is a scholarship and mentorship program sponsored by eSL Nigeria Limited and well wishers.
The purpose of .catchafrica. is to foster creativity and innovation among Africa’s brightest minds by rewarding students who go above and beyond the standard curricula and show an unusual appreciation for the real world applicability of science in the African sub-context
The scholarship is awarded based on a two pronged competition which involves a written examination and a research or design oriented project.
The subjects that will be tested initially are physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, economics, general engineering concepts and computer science.
Questions will be more conceptual than mechanical, and they will be made difficult on purpose, since IN's aim is to engender an increase in the yardsticks for excellence.
The questions are made up by an expansive board including top professors, researchers and graduate students in reputable schools and institutions (e.g. Cornell, Princeton, IBM) . Notably, we currently have the support of Dr. Gary McClelland (IBM Almaden), Prof. Dele Ajayi (OAU), Prof. Yaroslaw Bazaliy (USC), Prof. Gabriel Spalding (IWU) and a good number of willing graduate students (Cornell, Princeton, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, Georgia Tech, Harvard, etc).
The research project component will usually involve an extensive study or non-trivial design coupled with data analysis or other quantitative themes that help prepare the student for the real world application of science they learn in the classrooms.
The competition is open to any student of a school that has formally indicated interest. However, each school must specify a 5 member team. These students will not work together, however, their scores will be added to determine each school’s rank.
Prizes will be handed out to the top three individuals and not schools, the awards are summarized below:
|
Position | Award |
| First Place | N50,000, Mentorship, Books |
| Second Place | N10,000, Mentorship, Books |
| Third Place | N5,000, Mentorship, Books |
| Fourth Place | Books, Mentorship |
| Fifth to 15th Place | Mentorship |
CATCH is also amassing a vast resource pool of scholars and professionals to help guide the careers and lives of participants and eventual winners of the scholarship.
Details about the mentorship program and CATCH in general can be found here
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