Maroc - VERACITY.COM.NG - A La Une - 07/Mar 20:50

FUPRE student wins Pinefon Innovation challenge

A student of FUPRE, Lucy Ifeoma Ugwuanyi, has emerged as the overall winner of the third edition of the Pinefon Innovative Challenge, also known as SHE CAN 3.0. The competition, which held on Friday at the lecture theatre of the , Effurun, Delta State, attracted students, academics and development partners committed to promoting innovation among female students. The event, themed “Nurturing Tomorrow’s Generation of STEM Leaders,” featured three female finalists from tertiary institutions in Delta State who presented research-based solutions to scientific and environmental challenges. Ugwuanyi, a student of the Petroleum Engineering Department at FUPRE, impressed the judges with her presentation titled “Drilling Fluid Formulation for High Pressure and High Temperature Wells,” which focused on technological improvements in petroleum engineering operations. Other finalists included Chukwuka Chioma Favour of the Petroleum Training Institute, who presented a research work on the investigation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals in crude oil-contaminated river water samples. Also competing was Elizabeth Onome Anthony, who presented a project on the formulation of green nanoparticles for scale inhibition and removal, offering innovative approaches to environmental remediation. Announcing the results, the Chief Judge, Prof. Kenneth Ibe of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun, commended the founder and Managing Director of the Pinefon Empowerment Initiative, Mrs Mfon Otite-Douglas, for promoting female participation in science and technology. Ibe described the initiative as a significant platform for empowering young women intellectually and socially across Delta State. He declared Ugwuanyi the overall winner of the competition, while Favour and Anthony emerged second and third respectively. In her remarks, the winner expressed gratitude to God, her lecturers and parents for their support, noting that the victory was particularly memorable as the competition coincided with her birthday on March 6. Earlier, Otite-Douglas encouraged female students to develop innovative ideas capable of addressing societal challenges, reiterating the organisation’s commitment to empowering the girl child through education and innovation. She also announced that registration had commenced for the fourth edition of the Pinefon Innovative Challenge. The event featured goodwill messages from partner organisations, including the and the , among others. Participants were also educated on the dangers of drug abuse by a representative of the . The programme concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by the General Manager of the Pinefon Empowerment Initiative, Emmanuela Ememu, who reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to empowerment programmes for widows and the girl child across Nigeria.