The Federal Government has unveiled a national laureate award for tertiary institutions, with an annual prize pool of N365 million to recognize outstanding academic research, innovation and intellectual excellence across Nigeria.
The award, introduced by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank, NERD, will recognize exceptional academic work with potential for innovation, commercialisation, industrial application and national development.
A special prize for medicine and medical innovation will be named after Stella Adadevoh, the late physician whose actions helped contain the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Nigeria.
Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, announced the initiative, saying the government had established a committee to provide strategic direction, governance and oversight for the award.
Alausa said the initiative was created to address the longstanding need for greater national recognition of outstanding work being produced in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
“For many years, our national attention and reward systems have not sufficiently celebrated the remarkable work taking place in our universities and other tertiary institutions,” he said.
“Across this country, young Nigerians and academics are conducting research, developing solutions, creating new technologies and generating ideas capable of addressing some of our most pressing developmental challenges.
“As a government, we believe that these young men and women and our distinguished academics deserve to be seen, supported and celebrated.”
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The minister said the award is part of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the education sector and will be jointly implemented by NERD and the Federal Ministry of Education.
According to him, the N365 million annual prize pool will cover various categories of academic excellence, including undergraduate dissertations with strong commercial potential, as well as exceptional master’s and doctoral theses with clear industrial and developmental applications.
He added that special prizes would recognize outstanding contributions in critical fields, including engineering and technology, medicine and health sciences, arts and social sciences, agriculture, law and teaching innovation.
Some of the special prizes, he said, would be named after distinguished Nigerians whose lives exemplify exceptional service, courage and contributions to the country.
“One of these will be the Dr. Stella Adadevoh Prize for Medicine and Medical Innovation, in honour of the extraordinary physician whose courage and professional sacrifice contributed significantly to preventing the 2014 Ebola outbreak from becoming a national catastrophe. Her legacy demonstrates the transformative power of knowledge, professionalism and service to humanity,” Alausa said.
He said the process would be “transparent, competitive, merit-driven and insulated from political, institutional or personal influence,” stressing that excellence must remain the primary criterion.
The minister said universities, polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education, including privately owned institutions, would be eligible to participate in the competition.
He, however, did not provide details on the eligibility criteria or how students and researchers can submit their work for consideration.
The Cable
