Blessing Obot wins Maiden Edition of AKSU-AEE Poster Competition
A 500-level student of the Department of Agricultural Engineering, Akwa Ibom State University, Blessing Obot, has emerged as the winner of the department’s maiden poster competition.
Obot, whose research focused on ‘designing and developing an automated fish feed dispenser,’ amassed 95.33% to beat her closest rival, Courage Ekanem, who scored 93.78% to finish second. Godwin Akpan clinched third spot with 92.22%.
The automated fish feed dispenser designed by the winner of the competition is capable of dispensing 1 kg of 3 mm pellets in 20 seconds while dispensing a similar weight of 9 mm pellets in 25 seconds. The study achieved a consumption efficiency of 90%, while a reliability of 87.5% was achieved.
Obot said her motivation for the research was anchored on reducing labour costs incurred in manual feeding of the product, limiting wastage and pollution from excess feeding, reducing uneven growth due to inconsistency in feeding rate, and optimising resources.
Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Nse Essien, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Otoabasi Akpan, lauded the department for the initiative and promised to facilitate the scope of the competition to accommodate all departments and faculties by the next edition.
Earlier, the Chairperson, Prof. Edna Edna Augustine Akpan, said the poster competition is timely as some of the research outputs are currently issues of concern in the industry. She charged the supervisors and students to publish findings from the respective research and pursue collaboration with the industry and policymakers to ensure the three helixes work together for the growth of society.
Delivering his goodwill message, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Esio Oboho, said the Faculty is committed to advancing research that would proffer solutions to local challenges for the development of Akwa Ibom and Nigeria by extension.
The Head of the Department, Dr. Promise Etim, while setting the tone for the event, lauded Engr. Kingsley Umani and partners from Washington State University, USA, for collaborating with the department to organise the poster competition. He thanked students who participated in the competition, urging them to be result driven.
The first, second and third place winners received cash prizes of N100,000, N70,000 and N50,000, respectively. Sixteen students took part in the competition.
