Nigerian Student Wins Star Prize in DStv Eutelsat Awards
Winners of 2017 DStv Eutelsat Star Awards have been announced in Johannesburg South Africa.
Nigeria’s Emmmnuel Ochenjele emerged winner in the poster category, while Aobakwe Letamo from Botswana was the runner up in the same category.
Ochenjele won the start prize for his depiction of a constellation of diverse satellites all contributing towards the advancement of solutions to challenges such as global warming, conservation of biodiversity, as well as stable energy supply.
He will visit Eutelsat in Paris to understand how satellites are operated, as well as a satellite factory. Leoul Mesfin from Ethiopia, emerged winner in the Easy category. His entry struck the judges as it considers continental and country specific needs and closely aligns to the topic.
Mesfin has thus won a trip to Paris and onwards to a launch site to witness a rocket blast into space to place a satellite into orbit. The runner-up in the essay category was Davids Bwana from Tanzania who wins a trip for two to visit MultiChoice facilities and the South African National Space Agency near Johannesburg.
The four winning schools attended by the overall award winners and runners-up were also rewarded with a DStv installation, including dish, TV set, PVR decoder and free access to the DStv Education Bouquet.
The award which is the sixth edition, sustained interest from African learners aged 14 to 19, attracting over 1000 entries from 20 countries. According to the organisers, levels of accuracy, creativity and originality were judged to be higher than ever before, both in the essay and poster categories.
Claudie Haigneré, Europe’s leading female astronaut and now special advisor to the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), chaired the jury of the Awards for the first time. Speaking on her experience as jury head, Haigneré said, “Taking part in the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards for the first time has been quite simply a mind-changing experience, especially as this year’s topic was particularly challenging. The visionary ideas on Africa’s future satellite landscape developed in essays and posters underscore how Africa’s youth expect technology to drive positive change for their continent. The Jury engaged in intense discussions to award the most realistic and creative proposals that deserve to stand out on the African stage. Our congratulations go to all the finalists for their work and to the winners for their brilliant ideas.”
She was assisted in her duty by a panel of international skilled industry experts: Ronke Bello, CEO at Innovative Technology Literacy Services Ltd (Nigeria), Elizabeth Ohene, journalist and former Minister of State to the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (Ghana), Prof. Stephen Simukanga, Former University of Zambia Chancellor and now Director General of the Higher Education Authority, Jenerali Ulimwengu, well known writer, columnist and lawyer (Tanzania).
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