New award to cover universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education nationwide.

The Federal Government has rolled out a ₦365 million yearly prize to reward top academic research, innovation and intellectual performance in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the initiative in Abuja on Wednesday. He said the scheme is designed to reposition universities, polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education as hubs for research, enterprise and problem-solving.

“We have considerable intellectual capacity in this country,” Alausa said. “What is needed now is greater recognition and support to turn that research into impact for the nation.”

The award cuts across 6 key areas:

1. Engineering and Technology

2. Medicine and Health Sciences

3. Arts and Social Sciences

4. Agriculture

5. Law

6. Teaching Innovation

The Federal Ministry of Education said the programme will recognize:

– Exceptional undergraduate projects with commercial potential

– Outstanding Master’s theses

– Doctoral research with industrial or developmental applications

It will also include a special category: the Dr Stella Adadevoh Prize for Medicine and Medical Innovation, named in honour of the late Nigerian doctor who helped contain Ebola in 2014.

According to the ministry, the broader objective is to “promote research commercialisation, preserve Nigeria’s intellectual output and strengthen the connection between tertiary education, industry and national development.”

By putting money behind research, the government says it wants to encourage students and lecturers to produce work that can be turned into products, services and solutions for real national problems.