A Nigerian student, Awoyemi Covenant, has won the Best Research Innovation of the Year award at the NextGen Innovation Challenge 2026 Grand Finale in London, United Kingdom.
Covenant, a 400-level nursing student at Olabisi Onabanjo University, OOU, Ogun State, represented Nigeria at the international competition, which ran from October 7 to 11, 2026.
The university announced her achievement on its social media page.
The NextGen Innovation Challenge is organized by the National Board for Technology Incubation, NBTI, in partnership with the UK-based consultancy firm UKALD.
Announcing the 2026 edition in Abuja, NBTI’s Director-General, Dr Kazeem Raji, said the London grand finale would feature global showcases, investor pitching sessions, policy engagements and deal rooms.
The program is aimed at unlocking the innovative potential of Nigerian youths, especially from grassroots communities across the 774 local government areas, and NBTI said last year that 105 innovators, selected from more than 3,000 entries, would take part in the London finale.
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Ahead of the finale, NBTI scheduled a three-day boot camp in Abuja in July to train participants on prototype refinement, commercialization and investment readiness, with mentorship expected from partners including Innovate UK, Teesside University London and Google.
The 2026 challenge prioritized sectors including green and renewable energy, climate resilience and Agri-tech.
OOU said Covenant was selected after taking part in the national innovation program, where she represented Ogun State at the National Showcase in Abuja alongside more than 2,900 other participants.
From that pool, 70 candidates were shortlisted for the grand finale in London, where she emerged winner of the Best Research Innovation of the Year award.
The university said her entry is a biodigester appliance that converts livestock waste into biogas, a renewable energy source that can be used for cooking and other energy needs.
It offers a potential approach to both sustainable energy production and waste management.
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