StudyIn Essay Contest: Lagoon Secondary School Emerges Best School
Kehinde Adeleye
A Senior Secondary School 3 student of Lagoon Secondary School, Okoye Sienu, has emerged winner of the Future Ready Essay Competition organised by global higher education consultancy agency StudyIn.
Sienu was announced as the winner at the StudyIn Global Study Conference held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, after beating 100 other students in the competition.
The participants were asked to write on the topic, “How would studying at an international university help you prepare for a career in a world increasingly shaped by AI?”
After her essay was shortlisted among the top 15 entries, Sienu emerged as the overall winner following her video presentation on the topic. She received a MacBook as her prize.
Tamilore Macaulay of Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, emerged first runner-up and received an iPad, while James Soorefunmi, also a student of Lagoon Secondary School, finished as second runner-up and received a tablet.
The top 15 finalists were also awarded certificates of participation.
Lagoon Secondary School was named the best school following the performance of its students, while Dowen College came second.
Other schools with students among the top 15 finalists included Honeyland, Atlantic Hall, Silversands Hall and Meadow Hall, all in Lagos.
The conference featured discussions and presentations on the adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Nigeria’s education sector and the need to prepare students for a rapidly changing global learning environment.
Speaking at the event, StudyIn Country Director, Mary Agbu, emphasised the need to balance the adoption of AI with ethical considerations and the core values of education.
Agbu said education stakeholders needed to raise awareness of changes in the global landscape to help students make informed decisions about their studies and future careers.
She noted that conversations about AI should involve parents, schools and other stakeholders to ensure students understood both the opportunities and challenges associated with the technology.
According to her, education must continue to promote values and ethics as AI becomes more widely integrated into learning and other aspects of society.
“One of the things that we really push out in the college is values,” she said, stressing that the integration of AI into education should go hand in hand with an understanding of educational values and ethics.
Also speaking, StudyIn’s Chief of Staff and Director, Adiba Ofungwu, said there was a significant gap between the realities of education in Nigeria and the demands of the evolving global learning environment.
She said Nigerian students needed adequate preparation to compete with their counterparts abroad, many of whom were already familiar with AI-driven learning environments.
Ofungwu explained that StudyIn was working to bridge the gap by providing students with information and guidance to help them navigate international higher education opportunities and adapt to changing educational demands.
She added that students needed to understand their academic options, available scholarships and how their chosen courses could align with their future career goals.
The competition formed part of broader discussions at the conference on preparing young people for a future in which Artificial Intelligence is expected to play an increasingly significant role in education and employment.
