What You Need Know About Npower IBM Jump Start Competition

IBM N-Power jumpstart is a competition which aims to create a sustainable positive future for N-power volunteers after their mandatory youth service. The competition provides the volunteers with the opportunity to learn and acquire new world class IT skills, get inspired, innovate revolutionary technological solutions enabling them to move on to new jobs or become entrepreneurs.

 

Competition Objectives:

The competition aims to:

1. Enable Nigerian citizens, entrepreneurs, and communities with the knowledge and tools to innovate, and design, develop, and launch their own digital solutions.
2. Enable vital skills development needed to transform Nigeria to the next level of productivity and efficiency
3. Enable N-power volunteers to learn on the IBM platform

How to Participate:
The competition is designed for:

• All Volunteers on the N-Health, NTeach and N-Agro streams 
• Volunteers registered on the IBM-DNA platform
• Volunteers in the first and second batch of the N-power program

Competition Process:

1. Volunteers register on the IBM DNA by following Links on the NPower Portal to Start Learning and Earning Badges.
2. Learners with the highest number of Badges each week (in the case where they are multiple winners, the  'Learning Hours' takes preference) win the weekly cash prize and volunteers are selected from the poll of Top learners for the Final Stage of the Competition.
3. The competitors will present their solutions in an organised program where their ideas will be judged by selected judges.
4. Winners would be selected and awarded.

The Idea Challenge:
Participants would be required to propose a solution and business case which should be aimed at solving  Challenges related to any of the following fields namely:  Education, Agriculture and Health care and should address a specific problem that can be implemented at scale.

Scope:
The competition is focused on all batches of N-Teach, N-Health, N-Agro volunteers and it consists of four stages:

Competition Stages: 

Stage 1: On-boarding process and application

The on-boarding process involves the following steps

• Each Volunteer will access the IBM D-NA platform via the N-Power Portal.
• Volunteers have to be paired into teams of two, with a partner in the same N-program/category (They register and learn as individuals at the beginning, but they would compete as teams of two during the competition process).
• Only after the volunteers that qualify have gone through the onboarding process, he/she is eligible to participate in the N-Power Jumpstart challenge.

Stage 2: Learning
After a successful on-boarding process, the learning on the IBM platform commences

• The learning stage will run for for 8 weeks in total from the date of commencement
•  The top two volunteers with the highest badges win a sum of N10,000 weekly

Stage 3: Design Thinking Phase
The design thinking phase commences between weeks 5-6 for 5 days. The top 50 teams (100 learners) with the highest number of badges at the time of selection would be contacted to compete in this phase. They would be required to do the following:

• Each team would submit a 2-3 minute video, explaining a solution tied to their learnings from the IBM platform and how it solves a problem in their N-power category.
• All videos would be submitted to [email protected]
• The top 16 volunteers (8 teams) would be selected from the pool of submission, based on predetermined criteria
• These 16 volunteers would be contacted to compete in the final competition event.

Stage 4: Competition, completion and awards

• These 16 volunteers would present their ideas at the competition slated to hold in Abuja presentations would be made (presentation slides, videos etc)
• Presentations would bejudged by 6 judges (2 from IBM, 2 from Softcom Ltd and 2 from N-power)
• Winners would be selected and awarded as follows:

1. First position 2 teams of two to win 1,200,000
2. Second position 2 teams of two to win 800,000
3. Third position 2 teams of two to win 400,000
4. Top four winners would also have 6-months paid internship opportunity with IBM.

Evaluation Criteria: 

The teams will be evaluated based on the following criteria;

1. Ability to innovate, create and critical thinking skills
2. Registered in a team of two
3. Level of application of technology learnt via IBM platform to solution 
4. Demonstration of deep understanding of the problem. 
5. Practicability and sustainability of proposed solution.
6. Commercial and social value of solution
7. Comcision and precision of ideas
8. Teamwork and collaboration

Terms & Conditions:

1. Plagiarism or any form of unauthentic ideas and solutions will lead to disqualification
2. Only one video entry is admissible per team
3. By entering the N-Power Jumpstart challenge you agree to having your name, details and photos published online, printed in brochures or in a future issue of the IBM N-Power jumpstart challenge.  
4. IBM N-Power  jumpstart challenge team, reserves the right to make changes as regards completion and submission dates.
5. Winners are selected in a team of two.
6. The competition would last for a period of 90 days maximum
7. Winners would be paid two weeks after the competition via Eyowo
8. IBM is authorised to share weekly information on the participants with highest number of badges.
9. IBM will provide weekly reports and a detailed report after the competition.

** All ideas and innovations are properties of the organisers.

Source: #NPowerNG