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The Nigerian Government has established an annual ₦365 million prize to recognise outstanding research, innovation and intellectual excellence across tertiary institutions.
The Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji Alausa, launched the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Prize in Abuja.
Alausa said the initiative was designed to reposition tertiary institutions as centres of “research, innovation, enterprise and problem-solving” in line with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The minister said Nigeria has significant intellectual capacity across its universities, polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education, but outstanding research and innovations need greater recognition and support to achieve national impact.
The prize will recognise exceptional undergraduate dissertations with commercial potential, as well as 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 include the Dr Stella Adadevoh Prize for Medicine and Medical Innovation, named after the late Nigerian physician.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Boriowo Folasade, said the prize is intended to encourage researchers and students to develop solutions with practical applications while strengthening the relationship between tertiary institutions, industry and national development.
According to Folasade, the programme would promote research commercialisation and help preserve Nigeria’s intellectual output.
The government also said the initiative would strengthen the connection between tertiary education, industry and national development.
The ₦365 million annual allocation will support a national recognition system covering different levels of academic research, from undergraduate dissertations to postgraduate research.
The Ministry of Education said the scheme reflects the government’s effort to give greater recognition and support to research and innovation emerging from Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
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FG ESTABLISHES ₦365M ANNUAL NATIONAL LAUREATE PRIZE TO REWARD NIGERIA’S TOP ACADEMIC MINDS
The Federal Government has established the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Prize, an annual ₦365 million initiative to recognise and reward outstanding academic… pic.twitter.com/nNl6ocRpzW
— Federal Ministry of Education (@NigEducation) August 26, 2026
