The Rivers State Chapter of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers (NIMECHE) has called for more investment in science and technological education in the country.
State Chairman of the institution, Engr Promise Jumbo said this is necessary to fast track development in the country.
Jumbo said this at the maiden edition of mechanical engineering students’ competition at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rivers State University (RSU), Port Harcourt.
The competition was organised by NIMECHE in conjunction with the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Rivers State University.
Jumbo, who attributed the backwardness of the country to poor investment in science and technological education said time has come for governments to invest massively in the development of the sector.
He said the competition was organised to enable the students showcase their talents as well as encourage the spirit of excellence among them.
Jumbo described Mechanical Engineering as a vast field of engineering discipline and urged the students to put in their best to enable them excel.
He also urged the students not to allow any distractions, adding that it beholves on them to ensure that they put in their best by taking their studies seriously.
He said the participants were selected based on their CGPA.
In his words, “The programme is a maiden competition for final year students of Mechanical Engineering, Rivers State University.
“It is worthy to note that the students were selected based on their CGPAs but, they have over 70 of them and these ones were selected based on their CGPAs.
“So, we are going to administer a questionnaire to them and to get the best three out of them. And prizes will be awarded accordingly,” he said.
Also speaking, the chairman of the occasion, Engr. Goodluck Ikenyiri commended the institution for the programme, adding that it will instill the spirit of competition among students of not only the Engineering Department but of all departments in the university.
He commended the state chairman of NIMECHE for the excellent idea and urged other societies to emulate it.
Ikenyiri also called for more students to be involved in subsequent editions.
He urged students to keep themselves abreast of the event to enable them participate in subsequent editions of the competitions.
“If you have internet complier, go to Google. This is a regular thing.
“We are starting it here and with Mechanical Engineering Department in RSU, if you miss it here we will go to the next school” and described it as a surprise package for students.
“It is a surprise package, you may not have known that, there is an award to it but you will soon know at least even if, is a token but is tangible for a student. So we want to encourage you but this first ones you are the luckiest because is simple questions that you will answer and we will take the best three.”
“Secondly, you will be subjected to discussions; the first phase is what the department has done.
“The second is what we want to do which are simple questions. The timing was supposed to be 30mins but we will reduce it to 15mins, 3o questions in 15mins.
“You would have been 10 and out of it we selected five but now you are five and narrow it down we need three to get the awards so, you are a lucky group but we must do it diligently and we will mark it right here, then, finish up the whole thing today”, he said.
Ikenyiri used the occasion to encouraged the students that, the programme is their own and not for them the organisers, it is to help them and anything that is done here, it is sure that they have prizes and it will be better than that of the best graduating student of the department overall as they normally give .
According to him, “the prizes will be given to them on a platter of gold. Therefore, you have to be serious as everything necessary will be done right”.
He thanked the Hrad of Engineering Department of the University for encouraging.

By: John Bibor & Eunice Ubelejit