{
  "id": 3653492,
  "title": "FG Sets Aside N365m Annual Prize for Nigeria’s Top Academic Minds",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/fg-sets-aside-n365m-annual-prize-for-nigerias-top-academic-minds",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-27T03:19:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "This Day",
    "slug": "this-day",
    "url": "https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/08/27/fg-sets-aside-n365m-annual-prize-for-nigerias-top-academic-minds/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Nigerian federal government has introduced an annual N365 million National Laureate Prize to honor academic excellence in universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education across the country. Education Minister Dr. Tunji Alausa unveiled the initiative during a press conference in Abuja, emphasizing the government's intention to elevate tertiary institutions from mere certificate-giving centers to innovation and research hubs. The prize aims to celebrate outstanding academic research, innovation, and intellectual prowess, with special recognition in fields such as Engineering and Technology, Medicine and Health Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences, Agriculture, Law, and Teaching Innovation. Alausa highlighted the initiative's role in transforming the perception of scholarship, encouraging students to view research and innovation as pathways to national recognition, entrepreneurship, and economic prosperity. The award also includes the Dr. Stella Adadevoh Prize for Medicine and Medical Innovation, named after the physician who played a crucial role in containing the 2014 Ebola outbreak. Alausa assured that the selection process would be transparent, competitive, and merit-based, with entries required to adhere to the National Policy on the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank. By providing a structured national platform for identifying research works with commercial potential, the initiative seeks to change the trajectory of Nigeria's education system, emphasizing the importance of research as an enterprise and intellectual capital as a measurable national value.",
  "summary": "Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The federal government has unveiled a N365 million annual National Laureate Prize to reward outstanding academic research, innovation and intellectual excellence across Nigeria’s universities, polytechnics and",
  "key_points": [
    "Nigerian government introduces N365m annual National Laureate Prize for academic excellence.",
    "Prize recognizes research, innovation in Engineering, Medicine, Arts, Agriculture, Law, Teaching.",
    "Dr. Stella Adadevoh Prize for Medicine and Medical Innovation included in award."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}