FG Establishes ₦365m Annual National Laureate Prize for Outstanding Academic Research
Dr Tunji Alausa
The Federal Government has established the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Prize, an annual ₦365 million initiative aimed at recognising and rewarding outstanding academic research, innovation and intellectual excellence across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, CON, unveiled the initiative in Abuja, saying it was designed to reposition tertiary institutions as centres of research, innovation, enterprise and problem-solving in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Alausa said Nigeria was blessed with exceptional intellectual capacity across its universities, polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education, stressing that outstanding research and innovations required greater recognition and support to translate their potential into national impact.
According to him, the National Laureate Prize will recognise exceptional undergraduate dissertations with commercial potential, outstanding Master’s theses and Doctoral research with industrial or developmental applications.
The awards will cover six thematic areas: Engineering and Technology, Medicine and Health Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences, Agriculture, Law, and Teaching Innovation.
The initiative will also feature the Dr Stella Adadevoh Prize for Medicine and Medical Innovation, in honour of the late Nigerian physician whose contribution to public health remains significant.
The Federal Government said the programme would promote the commercialisation of research, preserve Nigeria’s intellectual output and strengthen the connection between tertiary education, industry and national development.
The ministry added that the initiative was part of broader efforts to ensure that research and innovation emerging from Nigerian tertiary institutions translate into practical solutions to the country’s developmental challenges.
The Federal Government expressed confidence that the prize would encourage students, researchers and academics to pursue innovative ideas capable of contributing meaningfully to Nigeria’s economic and social development.
