Winners announced from the Etisalat Geek Force Internship Contest

The search for the top five Etisalat Geek Force Interns came to an end recently with Muyiwa Iyowu, Victor Alayande, Onyemaechi Okafor, Peter Ndirpaya and Valentine Ubalua emerging as winners of the competition. After six weeks of intense trainings and tasks set up to test their individual knowledge, speed and responsiveness, these tech-savvy youths proved their mettle by beating other contestants to qualify for the one year paid internship with Etisalat Nigeria.

According to the company, the Etisalat Geek Force Internship was designed to recruit innovative and technologically inclined individuals that will be trained in the core areas of innovation and customer service. The search began with a call for entries via a 2-3minute youtube video upload and Tumbrl page  voting. The Top 20 videos selected out of thousands received were further reviewed by a panel of judges with 10 finalists emerging for the competition.

The race to the top five intensified week after week with the would-be Geek Force interns trying to outdo each other on various tasks assigned to them. They were trained by top Etisalat staff as well as professionals in various fields in areas such as product and service deployment, customer care, developing unique marketing propositions, and sales.

Speaking on the outcome of the contest, Director, Retail Sales, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Charles Ogunwuyi, expressed satisfaction at the level of determination, knowledge and demonstration of skills exhibited by all the contestants, saying that the five Etisalat Geek Interns will live up to expectations.

“The contestants were drilled in core areas of the business from technology-related issues, customer care to brand communication, and were tested to ascertain their level of comprehension and execution. We went through the rigors of mental, physical and emotional training to ensure we maximise their potentials with the aim of churning out a solid work force,” he said.

One of the contestants, Okon Etim, who got eliminated in the last week of the competition said that although he was sad to leave, the experience was nonetheless exciting and enriching as he learnt and acquired skills set that will be useful to him in future. The programme, he said, has set him on the right path to pursue his career.

The Geek Force Internship contest was designed by Etisalat to offer its customers, particularly the youth, a chance to join the Etisalat workforce as interns for one year training on mobile application development. The contest is part of Etisalat’s commitment not just to provide world class products and services to its customers, but to also avail them a platform of career opportunities in an innovative, engaging and exciting way.