Form three students in both public and private secondary schools with a special interest in Science and Mathematics had a chance to compete with their peers across the country in a national competition. The winner received a scholarship worth Ksh 1.5million, a laptop, signage for their school while the 1^st and 2^nd runners up got Ksh 750,000 and Ksh 150,000 respectively and a laptop each.

The competition, dubbed InterswitchSPAK, was unveiled through a partnership between the Ministry of Education, Techers key stakeholders and integrated electronic payments and commerce company Interswitch. InterswitchSPAK competition gives secondary schools in the 47 counties a chance to nominate their best six Form 3 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) students for the competition. The students must be aged between 15 and 18 years of age at the time of submission.

“The competition has been an interesting and inspiring journey which began with a pool of about 1,500 senior secondary school science students, from which the top fifty-four (54) students in the national qualifying exams were shortlisted to take part in the next stage of the competition, culminating in our gathering here today to watch the emergence of the ‘Best Science Student in Kenya’.

She explained that InterswitchSpak provides a desire to change the African narrative by equipping the children of today with the necessary skills required to shape the future of our dear continent. STEM education is recognized as a driver for the economic performance of a nation and will be crucial in helping Africa’s growing and emerging economies take their place on the world stage.

She also mentioned and acknowledged some of the past winners in the competition.

InterswitchSpak 1.0

• Jemimah Asoro who is pursuing a career in Medicine & Surgery at Egerton University,
• Norbert Longolol, who is undertaking his Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering Programme at The University of Nairobi, and
• Odiado Ashley Mudenyo, who is also undertaking a graduate programme in Medicine & Surgery at The University of Nairobi.
• Interswitchspak 2.0
• First prize winner of Interswitch SPAK 2.0, Carl Mwangi, pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nairobi.
• Hamza Kamrudin and Ignatius Suswa, who emerged second and third, are both pursuing degrees in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Nairobi.

And to our Interswitchspak 3.0 latest champions:

• Hussein Gufu: The first-place winner received Ksh 1.5 million in scholarships, spread over a period of 5 years, a brand-new laptop, and the title as the best science student in Kenya.
• The second Danson Karioki and Ronnie Andieri third prize winners received Ksh 750,000 and Ksh 150,000 worth of scholarships respectively, and a brand-new laptop each.

“Interswitchspak is a unique concept developed with a mix of education, technology and entertainment, to identify, promote and ignite the right support and reward for STEM students/ stakeholders in Africa,” she said. “This competition is very inspirational and the ultimate tool for enhancing participation of young people in STEM education and application.”