The Nigerian National Electrotechnical Committee (NN-IEC) is prepared to work with Blue Apple to facilitate the setting up of the IEC Young Professionals Program in Nigeria. This is to improve the transfer of technologies and experiences of mentoring young electrical and electronics engineering professionals.
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) which is a not-for-profit, quasi-governmental organization is the world’s leading organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. Founded in 1906, the IEC is one of three global sister organizations (IEC, ISO, ITU) that develop International Standards for the world and provides a platform to companies, industries and governments for meeting, discussing and developing the International Standards they require.
Close to 20,000 experts from industry, commerce, government, test and research laboratories, academia and consumer groups participate in IEC Standardization work. The IEC has a program for youths which serves as a platform for the mentorship of the younger generation to become the future leaders of international standardization and conformity assessment.
This program is known as the IEC Young Professionals (IEC YP) Program. For participants and their organization, the IEC YP Programme offers an important networking platform and a unique opportunity to help shape international standardization and conformity assessment work. The IEC benefits from the increased participation of young experts who bring new ideas to its activities.
The World Bank has recommended that Nigeria needs to make the most of her demographic dividend to improve her economy and lift its extremely poor population. Demographic dividend, as defined by the United Nations Population Fund, means “the economic growth potential that can result from shifts in a population’s age structure, mainly when the share of the working-age population is larger than the non-working-age share of the population”. Nigeria’s “young working-age people can be capitalised to be a productive member of the society and contribute to the GDP” as this would help to reduce “inequality and poverty rate”.
One of the means by which this can be achieved is by taking advantage of the platform created by this IEC YP program. This we believe would expose our young population to ideas that can lift the industrial sector of this nation to the next phase of the industrial revolution.
It will be recalled that Blue Apple, which is a STEM organization with a subsidiary National Engineering Codes and Standards Group is involved in an array of activities that include the promotion of the National Engineering and Science Technology Essay Competition (NESTEC) among undergraduate engineering students in institutions of higher learning in Nigeria.
In 2019, the organization launched an Integrated National Technology Blueprint to train young people in Emerging Technologies through its Techhub Academy and also initiated a Hands & Brain Innovative Technology Summit which it is partnering with NOTAP. Blue Apple recently signed an MoA with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE Nigeria Section to collaborate in areas of concern.
The formation of the IEC-YP program is ahead of the planned inauguration of the newly constituted Nigeria National Committee.
