By Lami Bawa
Team Waste2Light of the Federal University of Technology, Minna has emerged 2nd Runner-Up at the 2025 Coderina University Challenge (COUCH) held in Abuja, winning a cash prize of ₦1.5 million. The team presented their cheque to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Faruk Adamu Kuta, on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at the Main Campus.
Leading the delegation, Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre, Prof. Caroline O. Aloneghena, explained that the Honourable Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh (SAN), also pledged an additional ₦5 million to support the team after being impressed by their innovative project. She highlighted the need for a dedicated space for the Waste2Light facility, which currently operates from a rented location.
Prof. Aloneghena further briefed the Vice-Chancellor on the recently held OPay Empowering Future Conference 2025 in Lagos, attended by FUT, Minna representatives and scholarship beneficiaries. She noted that discussions are ongoing to secure more opportunities for FUT, Minna indigenes under the OPay scholarship scheme.
In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Faruk Adamu Kuta commended the students for their outstanding performance and reaffirmed the University’s commitment to relocating the Waste2Light facility to the main campus. He encouraged the team to continue driving innovation, creativity, and self-reliance.
The student innovators include:
Abah Emmanuel, 500 Level, Educational Technology
Abutu Emmanuel Agaba, Graduate, Extension and Rural Development
Apeh Mary, 500 Level, Geophysics
Amadi Benedict Obiomachukwu, Industrial and Technology Education
FUT, Minna placed 3rd out of ten universities that participated in the national finals. With this achievement, the team’s wind turbine system produced from waste materials is set to advance from prototype to commercial production.
The competition, hosted by Coderina EdTech in collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC), aims to promote innovation, problem solving, and creativity among university students across Nigeria.
Photo Credit Elijah Yisa
