Ten Federal Government College (FGC) Ijanikin, Lagos students have won a coding competition contested by 178 schools nationwide.
This accomplishment has placed the school as the third best in the 2022 edition of the African Code Challenge, involving more than 30 African countries, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
The college’s principal, Tofunmi Akamo, confirmed the development in a telephone interview with NAN on Sunday in Lagos. She expressed her excitement about the students’ feat by the students, describing the development as heart-warming for teachers, students and former students of FGC Lagos.
Akamo said that the youngsters had raised hope that Nigeria would eventually rule the world in the evolving field of coding and other aspects of information communications technology.
She lauded the federal government for creating a congenial environment that made it possible for students of the college to make their mark at the continental and national competitions.
The principal added that the school’s team worked on a project with the theme “Chase N Recycle” for the contest.
The AfriCAN Code Challenge, staged late last year, saw Madagascar placing first, with Mauritius coming second, while Nigeria, represented by two teams from the Federal Government Ijanikin, came third.
Team one, fielded by FGC Lagos, comprises Chidozirim Ejiogu, Praise Olugbenro, Ikram Babs-Lawal, Ayodeji Taiwo-Taiwo and Honourable Olutoye. The school’s team two comprises Adesewa Akin-Aina, Muhammad Elusogbon, Mustapha Adeboye, Joel Okafor and Daniel Oluwajuyigbe.
AfriCAN Code Challenge
The AfriCAN Code Challenge is a coding contest that spans across Africa, inviting all-young individuals from different walks of life from 8 – 16 years to develop a game using the Scratch programming language.
This year’s competition saw thousands of entries from more than 30 countries spanning as far as South Africa and Ethiopia.
Claire Gillissen-Duval, Senior Director of EMEA and MEE Corporate Social Responsibility and Co-founder of Africa Code Week at SAP, says, “ACW is currently in a transition period where we will be transferring the ACW curriculum to the ministries of Education to assist in the integration of coding into school curricula.
Once they introduce coding into schools, we look forward to seeing sustainable growth in the number of participants in the AfriCAN Code Challenge as ministries will have a wider reach and access to more young people.”
For the 2022 challenge, youths were called upon to develop a multiplayer game that proposes a sustainable solution for protecting life. They were then asked to create and share a 3-minute YouTube video detailing how their game works, the coding techniques used, and how it aligns with the theme and evaluation standards.
The winners of the AfriCAN Code Challenge were selected by a distinguished panel consisting of Africa Code Week delegates, SAP employees, and STEM education specialists.
Top 3 winners:
First place: Madagascar – Ravinalo by Henintsoa, Warren, and Shekinah
Second place: Mauritius – Mission Reboot by Nikhil, Mithil, Seeya, Grace, and Kesha
Third place: Nigeria – Chase ‘N’ Recycle by Team Techlite
Followed by:
4. Sao Tome & Principe – Saving the World
5. Morocco – Golden Planet
6. Ethiopia – Mission Re
7. Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe’s Heros
8. South Africa – Eco World
9. Cameroon – Reboisons Notre Terre
10. Gabon – Ntoutoume Evan
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