Country of Residence
Nigeria
Age
19
Project title
CLIMB Skills-to-Opportunity
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
CLIMB Skills-to-Opportunity helps Nigerian university students turn learning into practical experience by connecting skills development with real community projects, portfolio building and relevant volunteer, internship, fellowship and other opportunities.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/abdullahi-abdulkareem-665666354
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Pilot-Stage (We’ve tried an activity or two)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
My interest in CLIMB Skills-to-Opportunity came partly from my own experience as a university student. I have learnt many skills and earned several certifications because I believed that gaining knowledge would eventually create value for me. I later realised that having knowledge and certificates did not automatically mean I could apply them practically or turn them into opportunities. Much of what I had learnt was theoretical, so I had to deliberately find ways to force the knowledge into practical use. Even after doing that, it did not always translate into monetary value, which was one of the main reasons I had learnt those skills in the first place. This experience made me think about other students and the different ways they approach university. Some believe their degree will be enough to get them a job. Some believe a degree is only a piece of paper and that they need to build skills, knowledge, certifications and experience alongside it. Others simply go through university without a clear idea of what they want to do after graduation. I realised that regardless of which mindset a student has, there is a need for a clearer pathway between what they learn, how they apply it, the experience they gain and the opportunities they can access. That became the foundation for CLIMB Skills-to-Opportunity.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
From my observation, students in Nigeria often approach university and their future with different mindsets. Some believe that getting a degree will be enough to secure a job after graduation. Others believe that a degree alone is not enough and focus on gaining additional skills, knowledge, certifications and experience. There are also students who simply go with the flow through university without a clear direction of what they want to do or become after graduation. Although these students approach university differently, they can face a similar problem: there is often no clear pathway connecting education and learning to practical experience and real opportunities. A student may learn a skill but have nowhere to practise it. Another may collect certifications without having evidence of what they can actually do. Someone else may know they need experience but not know what projects to work on or where to find opportunities. Even students who actively search for internships, fellowships, volunteering or other opportunities may not yet have the practical experience or portfolio to take advantage of them. The problem is therefore not simply that students lack skills or opportunities. There is a gap between learning, practising, contributing, building experience and accessing opportunities.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
CLIMB Skills-to-Opportunity is designed to give university students a structured pathway from learning skills to gaining practical experience, contributing to their communities and accessing opportunities. The pathway is built around five stages: Learn → Practice → Contribute → Build Experience → Access Opportunities. Students first learn a practical skill through a structured learning experience. Before receiving a certification, they work with members of their cohort to identify a real community issue and develop a practical solution. They present their solution for submission and evaluation, allowing them to apply what they have learnt, work as a team, solve a real problem and receive feedback. The project and the student's contribution can become part of their portfolio, giving them evidence of what they can do rather than only a certificate showing that they completed a course. Beyond cohort projects, CLIMB connects students with youth, community and social-impact initiatives where they can volunteer their skills and gain further practical experience. For example, a student learning social media management could support communications for a youth initiative, while a student learning project management could contribute to planning and executing a community programme. As students build skills, projects, contributions and experience, CLIMB connects them to relevant opportunities such as internships, fellowships, competitions, volunteering and other pathways for growth. The goal is to create a bridge between learning and opportunity, so students do not leave a programme with only a certificate, but with demonstrated skills, practical experience, a portfolio and a clearer pathway to their next opportunity.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
CLIMB Skills-to-Opportunity is still at an early pilot stage, so I am not yet claiming large-scale impact. The project is currently focused on developing and testing the model and understanding how students can move from learning skills to applying them in real situations. The impact I want to create is measured by what students are able to do, not simply by how many certificates they earn. I plan to measure the number of students who complete learning experiences, work on community-based projects, contribute to youth or social-impact initiatives, build portfolios and access relevant opportunities. I also want to track whether students become better able to demonstrate their skills and have a clearer direction for applying them. The community projects are important because they create value beyond the students themselves. Students can use what they learn to work on real community issues while gaining experience that can support their future applications. Over time, I want CLIMB to help students move from simply learning or collecting credentials to demonstrating their abilities through real work, contributing to their communities and using that experience to access further opportunities.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
CLIMB Skills-to-Opportunity is different because it connects stages of student development that are often treated separately: learning, practical application, community contribution, experience and opportunity discovery. Students can already find courses, certifications, volunteer programmes, internships and fellowships in different places. The gap is often what happens between learning a skill and being ready to take advantage of an opportunity. CLIMB makes practical application part of the learning pathway. Before receiving a certification, students work with their cohort to identify a community issue, develop a solution and present it for evaluation. Their work can then become portfolio evidence of what they can actually do. The model also extends beyond the cohort project by connecting students with youth and community initiatives where they can continue applying their skills as volunteers. This creates another route for students to gain experience while contributing to real initiatives. The innovation is therefore not simply a new technology. It is the way existing learning, project-based practice, community contribution, portfolio building and opportunity discovery are connected into one pathway. CLIMB is designed around a simple idea: a student should not have to finish learning first and then figure out how to gain experience later. The process of learning should create opportunities to practise, contribute and build evidence of ability along the way.
How many people are on your team?
1
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
I am currently the main person developing CLIMB Skills-to-Opportunity. I lead the project concept, research, product planning, documentation, platform development and coordination. As the project develops, I plan to bring in collaborators with experience in student engagement, training, project delivery, partnerships and technology. I want to build the team around the areas needed to make the pathway work effectively for students.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next year, I want to move CLIMB Skills-to-Opportunity from an early concept and prototype into a tested student programme. First, I will develop the core learning-to-opportunity pathway and improve the digital platform around student profiles, learning, cohort projects, portfolios and opportunity discovery. I then plan to run a pilot with Nigerian university students. Students will learn selected skills, work in cohorts to identify community issues, develop and present solutions, and receive feedback and evaluation. I will use their experience and feedback to improve the model. I also plan to develop partnerships with student organisations, youth initiatives, universities, social-impact organisations and companies that can provide practical projects, volunteer roles and other opportunities for students to apply their skills. Throughout the pilot, I will track outcomes such as students completing learning experiences, projects completed, community contributions, portfolio evidence created and opportunities accessed. The goal is to test the model properly, understand what works, improve it based on evidence and then expand it to more students and communities.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
I plan to engage students through university communities, student organisations, youth initiatives, social media and existing entrepreneurship and community networks. Students will not only participate in CLIMB; they will also help shape it. I want students to contribute to identifying the skills they need, the community problems they want to work on and the types of opportunities they are looking for. Through partnerships with youth and community initiatives, students can also contribute their skills as volunteers. This gives them a practical reason to participate while allowing them to create value for organisations and communities. Student leaders and organisations can help mobilise cohorts, identify relevant community issues and connect students to projects. Social-impact organisations and other partners can provide real problems for students to work on and opportunities to continue applying their skills. As the pilot develops, I will share project outcomes, student experiences and lessons learned to help more students understand the gap between learning and practical experience. The aim is to build a community where students learn, practise, contribute and help one another move towards meaningful opportunities.
