APPLY: SystemSpecs Children’s Day Essay Competition

The 2023 SystemSpecs Children’s Day Essay Competition (CDEC) is a chance for all primary and secondary school students in Nigeria between ages 9-16 to showcase their innovative ideas for solving national problems using technology.

SystemSpecs is Africa’s technology powerhouse with interests in Payments, e-commerce, HR & Payroll, and other software technology solutions and services, with over 30 years of successfully translating the continent’s technology dreams into reality.

The SystemSpecs Annual Essay Competition was inaugurated in 2020 to express the company’s CSR commitment (Develop Capacity towards National Growth and Development through Technology) and stimulate the minds of young Nigerians to consider adopting technology to address everyday problems.

This year’s topic is “Making Nigerian Children Better Citizens Through the Use of Technology”. Participants are to explore this theme to come up with mind-blowing ideas.

Who can participate?

• Primary and secondary children schooling in Nigeria ages 9 years and not older than 16 years by March 15, 2023.
• Ages 9 to 12 are qualified for the junior category, while ages 13 to 16 are qualified for the senior category. You are not to be less than 9 years old or more than 16 years at the competition’s opening date (15th March 2023 for the 2023 edition).

Essay guidelines 

• The Junior category (ages 9 to 12) submits a maximum of 1,000 words, while the Senior category (ages 13 to 16) submits a maximum of 1,500 words.
• Essay must be submitted as a soft copy only. It should be written in Microsoft Word; Font size – 12; Font Type – Georgia, Arial, or Calibri.
• Essay must be in English.
• Only one entry is allowed per participant.
• Previous winners are not allowed to enter for the contest unless previous winners from the junior category now fall in the senior category, i.e. 13-16 years-old.
• Submission must be original thoughts of participants; plagiarism will not be tolerated.
• Participants’ data will be entered at the point of submission and should not be included in the essay document.
• Double submission or entry will lead to automatic disqualification.
• Submission must only be made by the School, Teacher, Parent, or Guardian.

Student prizes

• 1st Position: Laptop, laptop stand, headphone, smart watch, 120GB internet data and other gifts.
• 2nd Position: Laptop, headphone, 60GB internet data and other gifts.
• 3rd Position: Laptop, hoodie, 60GB internet data and other gifts.

School prizes 

• Junior category: 10 laptops
• Senior category: 15 laptops

Winners will be announced on May 29, 2023, and the award ceremony will take place on June 9, 2023.

How to submit and submission deadline 

Eligible students can submit their entries through the submission portal. Submission closes on April 14, 2023.