The University of Benin (UNIBEN) has emerged as the overall winner of the National Automotive Design and Development Council’s (NADDC) inaugural 8-Seater Electric Vehicle (EV) Campus Shuttle Bus Design Competition.
The competition, which started on March 6, featured 12 participating universities from across Nigeria.
The UNIBEN team, comprising 10 students from various faculties, five lecturers, two industry experts, and technicians, designed an electric vehicle that captured the benefits of people, profit, and the planet.
Notably, 50 per cent of the materials used in the design were locally sourced, showcasing the team’s ingenuity and commitment to promoting local content.
The Director-General of NADDC, Mr. Oluwemimo Osanipin, announced the winners and awarded cash prizes to the participating schools.
UNIBEN received a prize of N5 million for emerging as the overall winner, while the first runner-up, Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), received N3 million, and the second runner-up, University of Abuja, received N4 million. Each of the 12 participating schools also received N2 million.
Osanipin emphasised that the core aim of the competition was to foster local content in vehicle design for Nigerian use and potential export.
He described the university community as a fertile land for executing ideas and noted that the competition was a multidisciplinary effort that required collaboration between all stakeholders.
The NADDC announced plans to begin the next phase of the competition, which would involve the production of the electric vehicle in collaboration with the private sector and NADDC support.
Osanipin commended the participating students, lecturers, industry experts, and other stakeholders for their efforts.
The Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Enoh, represented by his Special Adviser, Mr. Odunsanya Adedamola, said that the initiative aligned with the vision and substance of the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP).
He emphasised the importance of cultivating homegrown solutions and technological capacity to drive sustainable industrialization and economic growth.
The competition has shown that Nigerian universities could design and develop electric vehicles that promote sustainable mobility.
The NADDC’s efforts to promote local content and collaboration between government, academia, and industry are crucial to driving innovation and economic growth in Nigeria.
