Get ready to spark some fun this vacation! 🚀

IEEE UNILAG holiday update

Hey you, 

As the sun continues to shine and the well-deserved break rejuvenates us, we can't help but feel the excitement building up for the upcoming semester. With one month left before we dive back into the academic world, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the incredible journey we've had so far.

"How have you been?" It's a question that perfectly captures the spirit of cooperation and tenderness that characterizes the IEEE UNILAG community. We hope that the past two months have been a mix of happy moments, peaceful exploration, and quality time with loved ones. From diving into new technologies to pursuing personal projects, we trust you've been making the most of this time away.

Congratulations on your achievements so far, and here's to an inspiring and fulfilling continuation of your vacation and an exceptional semester ahead!

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IEEE NEWS…

To all our paid users,

Join us for the 16th IEEE AFRICON conference that is being organized by the IEEE Kenya Section. The event will be held at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies (KSMS) in Nairobi, Kenya on September 20th to 22nd, 2023 under the theme "Advancing Technology in Africa Towards Presence on the Global Stage" with several pre-conference events being held on September 19th 2023.

You can register now.

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Power up your holidays…

Here are some sizzling ideas to help you enjoy the rest of your vacation:

1. Replace TV shows with educational tutorials on platforms like Codecademy, Udemy, etc. for productive learning.

2. Imagine hackathon successes, jotting down app ideas while sipping a drink - your next breakthrough might be near!

3. Rest and eat well!

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Tools of the month

1. Flaticon: If you need free customizable stickers and icons for your slides and projects, Flaticon is your guy. You can even add it as an extension on Google Chrome.

2. Trello, master of organization: Keep tasks from running amok with Trello. Design boards for projects, assignments, and events – all neatly arranged like the pieces of your favorite puzzle.

3. Canva: Unleash your inner artist with Canva. Whip up stunning graphics for events, social media posts, or maybe even a futuristic tech magazine cover (who knows!).

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Invention of the month…
Carbon-filament Light Bulb:

Lewis Latimer invented the light bulb's filament. Without this, light bulbs could not have been mass-produced.

Thomas Edison often gets the credit for inventing the light bulb, but in reality, dozens of inventors were working to perfect commercial lighting. One of those inventors was Lewis Latimer, a black man.

Latimer was hired at a law firm that specialised in patents in 1868; while there, he taught himself mechanical drawing and was promoted from office boy to draughtsman. In his time at the firm, he worked with Alexander Graham Bell on the plans for the telephone. Latimer then began his foray into the world of light. Edison was working on a light bulb model with a paper filament (the filament is the thin fibre that the electric current heats to produce light). In Edison's experiments, the paper would burn down in 15 minutes or so, rendering the bulb unrealistic for practical use.

It was Latimer who created a light bulb model that used a carbon filament, which lasted longer and made light bulb production cheaper. Because of Latimer's innovation, more people could afford to light their homes. Latimer also received patents for a water closet on railroad cars and a predecessor to the modern air conditioner.

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Tech Gists…

1. The 184 content moderators who were suing Meta and its former content review partner in Africa, Sama, for alleged unlawful dismissal, have chosen to settle the case out of court. This decision comes after five months since they initially filed the lawsuit, marking a potential conclusion to one of the significant legal cases that Meta has encountered in the region.

2. Zanifu, a Kenyan fintech company that offers inventory financing solutions to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, has secured $11.2 million in a pre-Series A funding round. The funding was a combination of debt and equity and was led by Beyond Capital Ventures and Variant Investments.

3. Months after a $2 million hack became public, Patricia converts customers’ assets into ‘Patricia tokens’. After it decision to freeze withdrawals due to a breach, Patricia has now converted all existing outstanding BTC and naira balances to its newly introduced token, Patricia Token (PTK). In an announcement about its new app, Patricia Plus, the company described PTK as a stablecoin tied to the U.S. dollar, where 1PTK equals $1.

4. Bosun Tijani, co-founder of Co-Creation Hub (CcHub), has been appointed as Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy.

5. Moniepoint, a Nigerian fintech company that has been operating under a B2B model for eight years, is now venturing into the retail banking market in the country. The company is launching a consumer app and debit card to offer retail banking services to the public.

Once again, congratulations on your achievements, and here's to an inspiring and fulfilling continuation of your holiday and a fantastic semester ahead!