Nearly 500 female students in Bille Kingdom, Rivers State, at the weekend, received incentives from the Women in Energy Network, WIEN, to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, including university scholarships.
WIEN, an all-female group hosting the platform for professional women playing in the energy industry, gave out scholarships and science education packs to the students in its maiden edition of its Supernova Girl initiative designed to groom young women for roles in the energy and industrial sectors.
Located in the Degema Local Government Area of the state, Bille Kingdom is situated on the west of Bonny Island and south of Port Harcourt. It is made up of 30 settlements with a population of about 77,000 people, out of which 41,000 are in the headquarters, Bille Town.
The Supernova Girl Scholarship Programme & Science Fair provided a forum for WIEN to interact with all critical stakeholders in shaping girl-child education, including traditional rulers, parents, school administrators, teachers and political leaders from Rivers State.
President of WIEN, Engr. Funmi Ogbue, noted that the aim of the Supernova Girl Scholarship Programme & Science Fair was to support girls in STEM education and provide broader career paths to enable them thrive and help in the socio-economic development in the country.
Out of the 482 beneficiaries of Bille Supernova Girl event, 16 girls from three categories received WIEN’s scholarship and the rest 486 students received high-end education packs for STEM education. School uniforms, sandals, bags and text books were also distributed to students at the event.
Ogbue stated that the students formed the initial batch of beneficiaries while the Bille programme served as a pilot scheme for future programmes.
She said the Supernova Girl initiative would form WIEN’s signature intervention programme in its nationwide STEM education campaigns.
“WIEN is confident that early contact with group will indeed spark the desire and ambition of the girl child to take a study path that will get them ready for career in the industrial sector,” she pointed out, adding that in addition to encouraging the education of rural girls in the country, the Supernova Girl initiative was also intended to stimulate the thrill and zeal for innovative thinking.
