A brilliant final-year project or postgraduate thesis could soon become one of the most valuable academic achievements in Nigeria.
The Federal Government has launched a new national award programme that will reward outstanding undergraduate, master’s and doctoral research with prizes worth about ₦365 million every year.
To kick-start the initiative, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, on Monday inaugurated the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Committee at the Digital Resource Centre of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in Abuja.
The committee will oversee the implementation of the National Laureate Programme, an initiative designed to celebrate academic excellence, promote innovation and encourage research that solves real-life problems.
According to Alausa, the programme reflects the Federal Government’s determination to place scholarship, scientific discovery and innovation among the nation’s most celebrated achievements.
«”The future prosperity of nations will increasingly depend on their ability to convert knowledge into economic value,” the minister said.»
He added that the initiative is expected to inspire more young Nigerians to pursue research capable of creating industries, solving national challenges and strengthening the country’s global competitiveness.
Alausa also said that in an era dominated by social media and the “attention economy,” Nigeria must deliberately create platforms that reward creativity, innovation and commercially valuable research.
The committee is chaired by the President of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Prof. Abubakar Sambo, alongside representatives from the National Universities Commission (NUC), TETFund, the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), universities and other education stakeholders.
The inaugural National Laureate Awards will hold in November 2026.
Under the prize structure, the winner of the Best Undergraduate Dissertation will receive ₦35 million, while the Best Master’s Thesis will attract ₦50 million.
The overall winner in the Doctoral (PhD) Thesis category will receive ₦100 million.
In addition, six National Laureate Excellence Awards, worth ₦30 million each, will be presented annually in Medicine and Health Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Agriculture, Law, Arts and Social Sciences, and Teaching Innovation.
The minister also announced the creation of the Dr Stella Adadevoh Excellence Award in Medicine and Medical Innovation, in honour of the late physician whose actions during Nigeria’s 2014 Ebola outbreak helped prevent a national health crisis.
Responding on behalf of the committee, Prof. Sambo described the programme as a major milestone for Nigeria’s education sector.
He pledged that the selection process would be transparent, merit-based and free from institutional bias, ensuring every eligible student has an equal opportunity to earn National Laureate status.
If successfully implemented, the programme could redefine how academic excellence is rewarded in Nigeria, encouraging more students and researchers to develop ideas that move beyond the classroom and contribute to
national development.
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