Hello there. 😊
‘Tis I. Lord Victor Whistledown of House PAADC. First of his name. Courier of Gossips. Two ears on my face, two thousand on the street.
I’ll also be a bartender in this letter because I came to serve you shots of good news from PAADC HQ.
Are you ready? 👀
Little birds whispered that many of you recently completed your exams and have either moved to new classes or signed out from university. Congratulations. I'm so proud of you! 🎉
I wish we could all be together right now. We’d open a bottle of Champagne (or Coca-Cola) and toast to success. 🥂
But since we’re not together, let me tell you something you didn’t know about these two drinks.
In the 5th century, Romans planted wine grapes in the Champagne region of northeastern France. The wine then was like the traditional palm wine we know today—dry and non-effervescent (without bubbles), meaning it doesn't produce gas when you pour it into a cup.
However, the cold weather in Champagne made it difficult to grow wine grapes. The grapes had high acidity levels and low sugar levels and struggled to ripen.
During fermentation of the wine, the cold would temporarily halt the process, causing it to restart during the spring season. When the fermentation restarts, carbon dioxide is produced, causing intense pressure in the wine. The pressure of carbon dioxide creates bubbles in the wine and gives a fizzy sound when opened. All of these made wine from that region quite different, giving it the name “Champagne”.
That, my friend, is why Champagne fizzes and foams when you pour it into a glass.
You know Dom Perignon, right? It’s the name of a French monk who contributed greatly to the production and quality of the Champagne wine we know now.
For the non-alcoholics, did you know that Coca-Cola was discovered by mistake? It was initially alcoholic! 😂
John Pemberton was an American pharmacist who got injured during the Civil War (1881-1865). In 1866, he was trying to create an effective and non-addictive alternative to morphine when he stumbled upon the first Coca product. Two decades later, he replaced the alcohol ingredient with sugar syrup and added carbonated water, creating the Coca-Cola we know today.
Champagne and Coca-Cola. Two drinks used to celebrate happy moments. Both discovered by accident.
Make God barb me this kain style abeg. 😂
Anyway, guess what wasn’t an accident?
The dozens of people that applied for PAADC 8.0.
Ladies and mentlegen…
APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OVER!
In the last couple of weeks, application for PAADC 8.0 was opened to undergraduates in Nigerian tertiary institutions. At the end of the application, we received dozens of applications from over 30 institutions!
The number of applications we received reflects the range of creative minds in Nigerian institutions. We’re not actually lazy Nigerian youths; we’re—in fact—one of the most brilliant and hardworking generations of youths this country has ever produced! 💚
Now, what next?
Each of these applications will go through a thorough and impartial screening process. We’ve sourced and onboarded well-experienced judges who will look into the applications and grade them based on specific merits.
The top 5 applications will get a chance to physically present their solutions to our judges and YOU later this year at our Grand Finale. 🤩
The Grand Finale
Every year, after scaling through the screening process, PAADC invites the top 5 teams to showcase their solutions and compete for a prize pool of 4.5 million naira.
5 teams. But in the end, there can only be 3 winners.
If you’ve ever attended any of the previous Grand Finales, you’d understand the excitement that fills the hall from the moments each team begins to present to the stand-up moment when the winners are announced. It’s electrifying! ✨
If you’ve not witnessed any of PAADC’s Grand Finales, there are two things you need to do:
Watch the recap of PAADC 7.0 below:
Start preparing to clear your schedule. You must not miss this year’s edition. 🌚 I’ll give you more information on that later. 😉
If you’re attending this year’s Grand Finale, there are also two things you need to do:
One, pull up with a friend (or the whole squad sef). Trust me, you don’t want to experience it alone.
Two,
Get a Merch!
Remember when I told you we have a wide range of creativity in Nigerian tertiary institutions? Yeah. This is the part where I gloat about how we have some of these creatives working with us at PAADC HQ.
I finally got to see—and touch—some of the merch items for PAADC 8.0 and boyyy, I was just shedding tears. 🥺
The way I carried it in my palms and brought it close to my face, it was like holding a baby for the first time.
From the designs to the production and the range of merch items available, fammmm, you’re in for a treat.
I’ve been telling you for weeksss to save your coins. In my last letter, I even suggested some surefire ways to get money to buy the merch.
Normally, I’d tell you that the merch is coming. But this is me unofficially telling you that THE MERCH IS HERE, and if you don’t buy, something go definitely do your steeze.
As members of the newsletter trybe, I’ve got something for you.
If you would like to get the PAADC merch at a discounted price, reply to this letter or hop in the volunteers’ community. Ask to speak with me, Lord Whistledown from PAADC. 😊
Other than getting the merch at a giveaway price, you also get to be one of the first people to rock the PAADC merch. How cool is that?
If you’re yet to join the volunteers’ community, I don’t know what to say to you at this point. That’s literally where everything happens! Gists, discussions, and interactive sessions (that usually lead to giveaways), etc. So tell me why you haven’t joined.
When you join, remember to ask for me and mention that you’re a newsletter fam.
By the way, my offer for a discounted merch price is only open for a week, so, you know what to do. 😉
In other news, just as I have something for y’all, PAADC also has something for you.
The Nexus
Next week, we’ll be organizing The Nexus, an enlightening and eye-opening session where we’ll be talking on the topic: Navigating Remote Work: Opportunities and Management.
The Nexus is a monthly workshop where PAADC community members get to learn from top players in the STEM and innovation industry.
In the past, we’ve had speakers like Duke Ekezie, the cofounder and president of Kippa, Peace Itimi, Director of Marketing at Smile Identity, and Bukola Oyeboade, the Head of Finance & Internal Control as Nexus speakers.
So who will be speaking at this month’s Nexus? I’ll leave that bit for you to guess.
Dear friend, I hope you’ve enjoyed my shots of good news so far.
For those on holiday, if you’re looking for something to do, you can attend the NGM Conference, an initiative of the Nasir Giwa Mentorship (NGM) Platform.
The conference is designed to be a place where young professionals can learn from industry leaders, connect with peers, and create memories that last a lifetime.
This year’s edition is themed: Venture Forward: Innovate, Create, Succeed.
If you’d love to attend, get your tickets here.
Till next time, my friends. Stay jiggy. Stay safe.
Lord Victor Whistledown of House PAADC,
Signing out. ✌🏽
Looking forward to getting the merches and attending the Nexus