The Federal Government has opened applications for the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Prize, a new national award scheme backed by an annual prize fund of ₦365 million for outstanding research, innovation and academic excellence.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, announced the opening of the prize following a press briefing held with members of the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) National Laureate team.
The scheme is open to students and researchers in accredited universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across Nigeria.
Under the prize structure, ₦35 million will be awarded as the Undergraduate Star Prize, while the Master’s Star Prize carries ₦50 million and the Doctoral Star Prize is valued at ₦100 million.
A further ₦180 million has been set aside for 15 Thematic Excellence Prizes, with each category receiving ₦12 million.
The thematic awards will cover areas considered critical to national development, including Engineering and Technology, Medicine and Health Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences, Agriculture, Law and Teaching Innovation.
The government has also established the Dr Stella Adadevoh Prize for Medicine and Medical Innovation in honour of the late physician, whose contribution to Nigeria’s response to the Ebola outbreak remains widely recognised.
The Federal Ministry of Education and NERD are jointly implementing the initiative, which the government said would provide a national platform for identifying research and innovations with significant academic, social or economic value.
According to the minister, the prize is part of efforts to encourage a stronger culture of research and innovation within the tertiary education system and create greater opportunities for promising academic work to gain national recognition.
The government said the selection process would be competitive and merit-based, with academic quality and the potential impact of submitted work forming key considerations.
The initiative also reflects the Federal Government’s broader effort to strengthen the contribution of tertiary institutions to human capital development, research, innovation and economic growth.
The government said the ultimate objective is to encourage students and researchers to develop knowledge and innovations capable of producing practical solutions, enterprises and other measurable benefits for the country.
