The Federal Government has unveiled an annual N365 million National Laureate Prize designed to recognise outstanding academic research, innovation and intellectual excellence across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
Minister of Education Tunji Alausa announced the initiative as part of efforts to strengthen research and reposition Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education as centres of innovation and national development.
The programme is known as the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Prize and is intended to reward academic work with potential for commercialisation, industrial application and solutions to Nigeria’s developmental challenges.
The Federal Government says the initiative will provide national recognition for scholars and students whose research demonstrates exceptional quality and practical value.
The programme covers academic work across several areas, including undergraduate dissertations, master’s theses and doctoral research.
Special recognition is also expected for outstanding contributions in fields such as engineering and technology, medicine and health sciences, agriculture, law, arts and social sciences and teaching innovation.
A special prize for medicine and medical innovation has been named after Dr Stella Adadevoh, the physician whose actions during Nigeria’s 2014 Ebola outbreak helped prevent the crisis from becoming a wider national catastrophe.
The Federal Government has described the initiative as part of a broader effort to change the culture around academic research by giving scholarly achievement greater national recognition and encouraging researchers to develop ideas that can translate into practical solutions.
The N365 million annual prize pool is expected to provide additional incentives for students, researchers and academics to pursue work capable of contributing to Nigeria’s economic and technological development.