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According to UNICEF, one in every five out-of-school children in the world live in Nigeria. This staggering statistic is indicative of the severe gap in the Nigerian social and education system. COVID 19 has further exacerbated education inequalities and access for the economically deprived in the country. The adoption of online teaching and learning solutions has reinforced access to education opportunities for many pupils globally. Unfortunately, a vast majority of pupils in Nigeria still lack access to technology-driven learning solutions, which has become a necessity rather than a luxury in a fast-changing post Covid world. In 2021, EdFord Scholars Programme was established against the backdrop of glum education reality in Nigeria to support economically disadvantaged students. The pilot EdFord Scholars Programme was a four-week learning and mentoring scheme for a select cohort of students from deprived areas of FCT, Kaduna, Lagos, and Rivers states in Nigeria. During the pilot, students were introduced to HESED online learning platform, which gave them the privilege of catch-up learning. The pilot was also designed to inspire students to think creatively and apply their talents to a digital project. They were mentored by a range of experts drawn from a cross section of disciplines, especially in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subject areas. At the end of the pilot programme, students emerged with basic information technology skills, and worked in teams to build websites for their schools. EdFord Scholars Programme 2021 was supported by HESED Learning.
The Vision of EdFord is to bring Education Forward as an impetus to help break the cycle of poverty and achieve sustainable development in Nigeria.
Our mission is to tackle inequalities in education and minimize the unfortunate waste of talents among economically disadvantaged and underserved children (with no access to relevant educational provisions). We do this by broadening access to e-learning opportunities and mentors.
Eme Ogbe is a chartered process engineer with over 15 years design experience in Oil & Gas Processing, Petrochemicals and Utilities. She has worked on multi billion dollar projects with major global corporations including ExxonMobil, Total, Kuwait Oil Company, Saudi Aramco, and Nigeria LNG among others. Eme has a master’s degree in Chemical Process Engineering from University College London.
Seun is an Associate Professor/Reader in Entrepreneurship and International Development at De Montfort University (DMU), Leicester UK where he also leads the African Entrepreneurship Cluster. His research activities cover the broad areas of transformative entrepreneuring, digital transformation, spiritual capital, social capital, and SME strategies in turbulent environments. Dr Kolade runs a series of Enterprise Boot Camps for aspiring and nascent entrepreneurs in Nigeria, supported by De Montfort University. He has also served as an advisor for several SMEs, worked as a consultant for British Council and is a member of the UN expert group on operationalisation of social capital in situations of forced displacement. Dr Kolade has authored more than 50 academic outputs, including articles in reputable international journals, book chapters, refereed conference papers, and reports. He is currently leading two funded projects investigating entrepreneurship among forcibly displaced peoples, and the recovery strategies and outcomes of minority micro-enterprises in the UK. He is the lead editor of the Palgrave Handbook of African Entrepreneurship (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021).
Yemi had her primary and secondary education in Jos and Ondo state Nigeria before moving to Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ife for her Medical degree. Graduating as a doctor in 2004, she worked in Ilesha for about a year before moving to the UK where she had further training and now works as a General Practitioner.
lyi aged 31, is a visual effect specialist. He has been working in the visual effects field for over 10 years. He has undertaken many big-name movie protects in the course of his career.
Peter grew up in Kaduna and had his early education at LEA Maiduguri Road, Kaduna. His first and second degrees are from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Not allowed to be limited by his humble beginning, his academic exploits propelled him to do graduate studies in the United States. In 2015, he was the recipient of the prestigious global leadership award by Appalachian State University. Peter is presently a doctoral candidate in the Department of Public Policy, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA, where he is involved in many high-level research supported by both the National Science Foundation and the Minerva Research Initiative of the United States. Apart from his works being published in highly acclaimed international journals, he has also presented his research in conferences in universities in the United States and Europe. One way Peter remains connected to his roots in Nigeria is to mentor students from Nigeria who show promise on how to get admitted into their dream universities.
Temitope is a Software Engineer with a multinational company. Temitope holds a Bachelor's degree in Physics from the Federal University of Technology, Akure and a master's degree In Artificial Intelligence from The University of Hertfordshire, UK. He's well-versed in several software tools such as Python, Java, JavaScript, SQL, HTML/CSS, among others. He possesses a wide range of expertise in trending technologies such as data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and application development.
Michael obtained a BSc in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria. Michael is a consummate Banker with years of experience in the Banking, Consumer Goods and Energy industries. With over four years in Data ETL, Analysis, Reporting, and Market Strategy across the sectors, he has worked with various teams to analyze business processes, provide real-time insights, and identify opportunities to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Michael cherishes leadership, ownership and integrity as a value. Over time, Michael has led many successful projects to improve efficiency, reduce costs and simplify operations.
