The Federal Government has introduced a N365 million annual National Laureate Prize to recognise and reward outstanding academic research, innovation and intellectual excellence across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, unveiled the initiative on Wednesday in Abuja, saying it was designed to reposition universities, polytechnics and colleges of education as centres of research, innovation, enterprise and national development.
The Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Prize will recognise exceptional undergraduate dissertations with commercial potential, outstanding master’s theses and doctoral research with clear industrial and developmental applications.
Alausa said special awards would also be presented in strategic areas, including Engineering and Technology, Medicine and Health Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences, Agriculture, Law and Teaching Innovation.
The initiative is being implemented jointly by the Federal Ministry of Education and the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank, NERD, under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to the minister, the programme is intended not only to celebrate academic excellence but also to encourage students and researchers to see innovation and scholarship as pathways to entrepreneurship, national recognition and economic development.
“Scholarship matters; research matters; innovation matters; and intellectual excellence deserves a prominent place in our national consciousness,” Alausa said.
He added that the prize would provide a national platform for identifying research capable of being commercialised or deployed to address pressing challenges facing the country.
The minister also announced the Dr Stella Adadevoh Prize for Medicine and Medical Innovation, established in honour of the late physician whose courage and professionalism contributed significantly to Nigeria’s successful containment of the 2014 Ebola outbreak.
Alausa stressed that the credibility of the initiative would depend on a transparent and merit-based selection process, assuring that entries would be assessed competitively and insulated from political, institutional and personal influence.
He said submissions would also comply with the National Policy on the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank to strengthen the preservation, documentation and accessibility of Nigeria’s intellectual output.
Alausa maintained that Nigeria could no longer afford an education system focused primarily on awarding certificates without translating knowledge into practical solutions, innovation and economic value.
