With the ASUU strike still ongoing, a lot of students have found themselves stuck at home, frustrated and with nothing to do. “I haven’t opened my books in a long time,” said Olamide, a student affected by the strike. “Even when I tried to, I stopped because I knew there was no hope of resumption happening anytime soon.” 

The world is ever-evolving, the journey through university is supposed to prepare students for that. Right now, there’s an uncomfortable but pervasive feeling of being stuck that almost all undergraduates can relate to. There are several initiatives and opportunities now for students to get equipped with skills — especially coding and technical skills. Not so many for the non-technical ones.

This is why PiggyVest, in partnership with Non Tech in Tech, is sponsoring 50 undergraduate students to get micro-certificates for non-technical courses including: Business Analytics, Product Management, 360° Marketing, Digital Transformation, UX Design, Data Analytics and Social Media Management. 

About this initiative, Peace Obinani, the founder of Non Tech in Tech, said:

“As a community that set out to help more non-technical individuals transition into tech, while also building a platform for them to network and have access to in-demand roles, we are excited to partner with PiggyVest on this project.

This partnership is a great opportunity for the students to learn the most in-demand tech skills, and it also helps to change the narrative that you need to be able to code to work in tech.”

The courses will be done on Coursera and Nexford, with the latter providing courses for 40 of the undergraduates. “With this partnership, students affected by the ongoing ASUU strike will have access to an uninterrupted learning experience,” Dr. Jennifer Bangoura, Nexford’s Director of Career Innovation, said about the partnership. 

To pick the undergraduates, we sent out forms to various university groups chats in the country. We got almost 3,000 applications in three days and screened them based on different criteria, prioritising students in their penultimate and final years. We then gave an assessment test, and the students who scaled through are the ones who qualified for the scholarship.

Here are the selected students and their universities:

1. Precious O. (University of Ibadan)
2. Usman K. (University of Ilorin)
3. Joshua U. (University of Ilorin)
4. Inyeneabasi E. (Federal University Of Technology, Owerri)
5. Aishat A. (University of Lagos)
6. Destiny N. (University of Lagos)
7. Wale J. (University of Lagos)
8. Ebiuwa E. (University of Benin)
9. Eunice B. (University of Lagos)
10. Chioma O. (University of Lagos)
11. Oluwanifemi K. (University of Lagos)
12. Dorcas A. (University of Ibadan)
13. Emmanuel A. (University of Lagos)
14. Sherif O. (University of Ilorin)
15. Faith E. (University of Ibadan)
16. Precious O. (University of Ilorin)
17. Arafat O. (Obafemi Awolowo University)
18. Emmanuel A. (University of Lagos)
19. Gifttie N. (University of Calabar)
20. Whaliat A. (University of Lagos)
21. Kizito J. (University of Lagos)
22. Faid O. (Bayero University Kano)
23. Williams O. (University of Ibadan)
24. Adetola S. (University of Lagos)
25. Oluwaseun D. (Lagos State University)
26. Esther A. (University of Lagos)
27. Riyyah A. (University of Lagos)
28. Adenike O. (Federal University of Ilorin)
29. Chioma O. (University of Lagos)
30. Glory O. (University of Lagos)
31. Mariam A. (University of Ilorin)
32. Ugochukwu N. (University of Lagos)
33. Ibukunoluwa E. (University of Lagos)
34. Elizabeth A. (Adekunle Ajasin University)
35. Oluwasogo G. (University of Lagos)
36. Oluwaseun A. (Obafemi Awolowo University)
37. Anjolaoluwa O. (University of Lagos)
38. Rotimi O. (University of Lagos)
39. Victory U. (University of Benin)
40. Peace B. (University of Benin)
41. Adebayo O. (University of Lagos)
42. Francis U. (University of Uyo)
43. Stephen O. (University of Ilorin)
44. Jude O. (University of Nigeria, Nsukka)
45. Taiwo B. (University of Ibadan)
46. Peace S. (University Of Calabar)
47. Ruth Itasoa O. (Obafemi Awolowo University)
48. Sharon S. (Federal University of Technology Minna)
49. Munachi U. (Federal University of Technology Owerri)
50. Favour O. (Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta)