Nigerian Prodigy Sweeps Scholarships from Top U.S. Universities with Groundbreaking AI Innovation
Caleb Adeleye
A 17-year-old student, Emmanuela Ilok, has been awarded full scholarships to study Software Engineering at several prestigious universities, including Stanford, MIT, Yale, UPenn, Princeton, and Columbia.
Education activist and CEO of Educare, Alex Onyia, shared Ilok’s remarkable achievements on his X page on Sunday.
“Meet Emmanuela Ilok, the brilliant 17-year-old who received full scholarships to study Software Engineering at Stanford, MIT, Yale, UPenn, Princeton, and Columbia University,” Onyia wrote.
Ilok’s academic excellence has garnered national recognition; she was named Nigeria’s top student in the International General Certificate of Secondary Education by the British Council.
Onyia also highlighted Ilok’s innovative software development using Machine Learning to detect breast cancer in women, achieving a 91% detection accuracy. “She built a software that uses Machine Learning to detect breast cancer in women, and so far, it has a 91% detection accuracy,” he shared.
On Sunday, Onyia hosted a virtual meeting where Ilok spoke with Nigerian students about preparing for and accessing such opportunities. Onyia was profoundly impressed by her potential. “I spent over an hour listening to her today, and I can tell you that we have a superstar in her,” he said.
He stressed the importance of identifying and nurturing exceptional talents like Ilok, stating, “We have many hidden Emmanuelas in Nigeria, and we need to discover and support them. It’s time for Nigeria to shine.”
In a related story, young mathematics prodigy Ugwoezuonu Ogechi Zara was awarded a N21 million scholarship after scoring a perfect 100% in the primary category of the National Mathematics Competition organized by the Mathematics Association of Nigeria.
