In an apparent move to recognise, reward and elevate outstanding academic research, innovation and intellectual excellence across Nigeria’s tertiary education system, the Federal Government has unveiled the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Prize to the tune of 365 million naira.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa announced this at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
Alausa said the National Laureate Prize represents a deliberate effort by the Federal Government to strengthen Nigeria’s culture of scholarship and innovation by ensuring that exceptional academic achievement receives the national recognition it deserves.
“As part of our continuing efforts to reposition education as a catalyst for national development, I recently inaugurated the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Prize Committee and charged it with the responsibility of providing the strategic direction, governance and integrity required for the successful implementation of this important national initiative”, he said.
He added that for many years, national attention and reward systems had not sufficiently celebrated the remarkable work taking place in Nigerian universities and other tertiary institutions.
“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.
“Our message is therefore very clear: scholarship matters; research matters; innovation matters; and intellectual excellence deserves a prominent place in our national consciousness”, he said.
According to the Minister, the National Laureate Prize is one of the initiatives of the Renewed Hope Agenda President Bola Tinubu in the educational sector, which is been jointed impemented by the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) and the Federal Ministry of Education.
He informed that it would provide a structured national platform for identifying and rewarding exceptional academic research with significant potential for innovation, commercialisation, industrial application and national development.
“An annual prize pool of approximately ₦365 million is envisaged for different categories of outstanding academic work, including undergraduate dissertations demonstrating strong commercial potential, exceptional Master’s theses, and Doctoral (Ph.D.) theses with clear industrial and developmental applications.
“There will also be Special Prizes recognising outstanding work in critical fields, including Engineering and Technology, Medicine and Health Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences, Agriculture, Law and Teaching Innovation”, Alausa said.
Furthermore, the Minister disclosed that some of the Special Prizes will honour distinguished Nigerians whose lives symbolise exceptional service, courage and contribution to our nation.
“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”, he stated.
He therefore assured that the selection process would be transparent, competitive, merit-driven and insulated from political, institutional or personal influence.
