ICYMI: 17-year-old Nigerian offered full scholarships to study software engineering

A 17-year-old student, Emmanuela Ilok, has reportedly been awarded full scholarships to study Software Engineering by some of the world’s prestigious universities, including Stanford, MIT, Yale, UPenn, Princeton, and Columbia.

Education activist and CEO of Educare, Alex Onyia, shared Ilok’s accomplishments in a post on his X page on Sunday.

“This is Emmanuela Ilok, the brilliant 17-year-old who received full scholarships to study Software Engineering at Stanford, MIT, Yale, UPenn, Princeton, and Columbia University,” Onyia wrote.

According to him, Ilok’s academic prowess has already garnered national recognition, as she was awarded the country’s best in the International General Certificate of Secondary Education in Nigeria by the British Council.

Onyia also noted that Ilok developed software that uses Machine Learning to detect breast cancer in women, with an impressive 91% detection accuracy.

He wrote, “She built a software that uses Machine Learning to detect breast cancer in women and so far it has 91% detection accuracy.”

Onyia, who hosted a virtual meeting for Ilok to speak with Nigerian students and guide them on how to prepare for and access such opportunities on Sunday, was left awestruck by her potential.

“I spent over an hour listening to her today, and I can tell you that we have a superstar in her,” he said.

Onyia further emphasised the need to identify and nurture such exceptional talents, stating, “We have many hidden Emmanuelas in Nigeria, and we need to discover and support them. It’s time for Nigeria to shine.”

Earlier, a young mathematics prodigy, Ugwoezuonu Ogechi Zara, was reportedly awarded an N21 million scholarship after scoring a perfect score of 100% in the primary category of the National Mathematics Competition organised by the Mathematics Association of Nigeria.