In whatever you do, do well and see it through − Campus Director, AAUA Hult Prize

In an exclusive interview with AAUA INSIDER, the Campus Director of AAUA Hult Prize team, Eniolorunda Olawale, also known as Adams talked about the On-Campus event, the upcoming regional event and what it means for AAUA. Excerpts…

Briefly introduce yourself.

I’m Eniolorunda Olawale, popularly known as Adams. And by virtue of service, I’m the Campus Director for Hult Prize in AAUA.

Kindly tell us what the Hult prize is all about.

The Hult Prize is an entrepreneurial movement in partnership with the United Nations and Bill Clinton Foundation. We are a community of people seeking disruptive young minds to align the UN goals in making Social impacts in communities around the world.

In our previous interview with you sir, you made us realize how Hult prize AAUA tends to ensure that all AAUA students benefit. What are the achievements so far?

Oh yes! We are working towards changing the entrepreneurial mindset of the student community in Adekunle Ajasin University and we ain’t relenting on that. Recently, 3 of our teams from the On-campus program conducted on the 10th of December 2020 were given slots to pitch at the Hult Prize Regional events.

Let’s briefly discuss about the on campus program which held on December 10, 2020. What have you been able to achieve during the on campus event?

Nice, thank you for this particular question. The On-campus event is or was (as the case may be) the first stage of the Hult Prize Competition. The theme of the competition for 2020/2021 is “FOOD FOR GOOD” as announced by Ex-president Bill Clinton. Here at AAUA, 11 teams comprising of 4 members each, participated in the event with very excellent ideas and it was presided over by 7 judges of reputable standards, it might also interest you to know that though it was a virtual event, the On-campus lasted over 4 hours straight. At the end, Team Spike emerged the Winner. To me, the beautiful thing is that, though only a winner was selected, others had this life-changing experience, network and the ability to persist irrespective. Proudly, almost all teams that participated in the event are still on their concepts, implementing and working towards take-off within the School Community, at least for a start.

That mean it goes beyond winning.

Exactly, that’s the point! IMPACT and that’s most definitely beyond emerging first.

As regards the Regional. What are the expectations?

The Regional event is for us, an international league of change. Two of our 3 teams got a slot to pitch at Accra, Ghana and it’s expected to take place virtually due to Covid-19. Now, our hopes are pretty high. The Change-makers from here (AAUA) have been putting in a lot of work and efforts into their various concepts collectively and I think with what’s on ground, we are changing the World come April 17th.

Considering the population, how does Hult prize AAUA plan to ensure victory for it teams?

Yes, the population of teams going for the grand Hult Startup prize of US$1M is quite much since it’s an international organisation. Nevertheless, we have done it before at the On-campus and our teams were considered to have the right mindset toward impact in the agricultural and food sector globally thus the slots. Hult Prize AAUA and our resource persons are working closely with our teams to raise the standard of their concepts to enable international competence and value. With the right strategies coupled with the appropriate approach, we are sure of impacting our society in high folds during and after the competition irrespective of the outcome coupled with the appropriate niche vision, we are sure.

When is the Regional event?

As earlier said, the Regional event for our teams is scheduled to take place at Accra, Ghana, virtually.

Is it open for other AAUITES to view?

No. Due to fact that the competition is a long one and other teams from other institutions and countries would also participate in the Accra Regional event with various breakout sessions. But of course, extracts would be posted on our Instagram page @hultprize_aaua to keep the community updated.

If our teams scale through to the next stage, what awaits them and what does this mean for the school?

The next stage of the competition is the Accelerator Stage, which is a 3 month mentorship, incubation and networking boot camp for Change-makers from around the world. The Accelerator is always scheduled for London at the Ashridge Castle also known as the Hult Prize Castle. There, teams would be paired with other teams for mentorship on how to further improve their social business concepts, exposure, exchange of ideas and interaction with world class business leaders including Ahmad Ashkar, Founder of the Hult Prize and Bill Clinton among others. For the institution, it would indeed be what I call a “GROUND BREAKING BREAKTHROUGH”. Adekunle Ajasin University for one haven’t previously qualified for the Accelerator program, we hope to change this narrative and draw the impact spotlight internationally on our institution.

How is the relationship with other organizations in AAUA to make the University outstanding?

We have quite a great similarity and partnership with several goal oriented organizations on campus, like Enactus, JCI and others to further shape the entrepreneurial sphere of the institution. We also partnered with faculties in the university to ensure a better rooted innovative and disruptive environment in terms of impact within and outside the Citadel of learning.

Your word for the teams and students at large.

In whatever you do, do well and see it through. Nothing is compared to consistency, it manifests over time.
Wish all the teams and AAUAite best of luck.

Funmilayo Olawole Daniel

Funmilayo Olawole Daniel is a 300l student of Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko from the department of Economics, A socialist, A journalist, public speaker, Entrepreneur , love impacting lives,Love in disseminating information to the public.