The Federal Government has commenced the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Prize, an annual ₦365 million award programme established to recognise exceptional research and promote high-impact academic work across universities, polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education in Nigeria.
The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, disclosed the commencement of the initiative on Thursday during a press briefing with members of the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) National Laureate team.
Alausa said the programme is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which seeks to reposition tertiary institutions as centres for research, innovation, enterprise and practical solutions to societal challenges, rather than places primarily focused on issuing academic certificates.
Prize structure
The ₦365 million prize package will be distributed through three major Star Prize categories and 15 Thematic Excellence awards.
The Undergraduate Star Prize is worth ₦35 million, while the Master’s Star Prize carries a value of ₦50 million. The highest award, the Doctoral Star Prize, is valued at ₦100 million.
In addition, 15 Thematic Excellence Prizes will be awarded at ₦12 million each, bringing the total value of the thematic awards to ₦180 million.
The programme spans six thematic areas, with one national laureate selected at each of the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels within the respective categories. In all, 18 laureates will emerge across the three academic levels.
Three of the 18 laureates will receive the Star Prizes, while the remaining 15 will receive the Thematic Excellence awards.
The six areas covered by the programme are Science, Engineering and Technology; Medicine and Health Sciences; Arts and Social Sciences; Agriculture; Law; and Teaching Innovation.
A special Dr Stella Adadevoh Prize, also known as the Excellence Award for Medicine and Medical Innovation, has also been incorporated into the programme. It recognises the late physician who played a key role in Nigeria’s response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak.
The award will go to the laureate whose research and conduct most clearly reflect integrity, national service and a commitment to safeguarding the public good.
Who is eligible?
The competition is open to students and researchers enrolled in accredited tertiary institutions across Nigeria, including federal, state and privately owned institutions.
Eligible research works include undergraduate dissertations and recognised equivalents, master’s theses, doctoral theses and corresponding research works from polytechnics, monotechnics, colleges of education and similar institutions.
To qualify, the research must demonstrate considerable commercial prospects, potential for industrial application or a clear capacity to contribute to developmental needs.
All submitted works must also satisfy the required standards for originality and research integrity.
Before a research work can be nominated, it must be deposited on the NERD platform and assigned a valid National Document Number (NDN).
However, securing an NDN only establishes that the work has been deposited in the repository. It does not mean the research has automatically been entered into the National Laureate competition.
How students can position themselves to win
Students are not allowed to submit their research directly for the award. Instead, entries must be made by their institutions through formally constituted Institution Laureate Selection Committees.
Each institution can submit a maximum of 18 research works, consisting of up to six undergraduate, six master’s and six doctoral entries, or their recognised equivalents.
The entries are expected to come from the six thematic areas, generally with one submission representing each theme at each academic level.
Students hoping to improve their chances should concentrate on producing outstanding research with clear commercial, industrial or developmental relevance, particularly research that provides solutions to national challenges.
They should also ensure that their dissertation, project or thesis has been properly uploaded to NERD and issued a valid NDN before the institutional selection period ends.
Students are encouraged to maintain close engagement with their supervisors, co-supervisors, heads of department and other academic authorities. They should seek their support in having their research presented to the Institution Laureate Selection Committee for independent consideration.
The institutional assessment serves as the first stage of the competition. Therefore, producing strong research and meeting all NERD requirements are both important factors in securing nomination.
How institutions submit entries
After an institution’s Laureate Selection Committee has selected the research works to be entered, authorised committee members are expected to complete the submission through the National Laureate portal.
Step 1: Log into the National Laureate Committee portal. Before this can happen, the institution must have established its Laureate Selection Committee and instructed its NERD Focal Officer to enrol the committee and formally designate its appointed members on NERD.
Committee members must have this designation before they can access the Laureate portal with their existing NERD credentials.
Step 2: From the Laureate Dashboard, select Manage Institution Entries from the menu located at the top-right corner.
Step 3: The subsequent page will show the dissertations, projects and theses submitted by the institution, arranged according to undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels or their recognised equivalents.
Step 4: Apply the filters provided at the top of the page to locate the particular dissertation, project or thesis the committee wishes to enter.
Step 5: After finding the selected work, click View to examine the submission information and ensure that the details are accurate.
Step 6: On the View page, select View Submission Evidence to establish that all necessary departmental and institutional attestations have been provided.
Step 7: Select Open Authoritative Student File to access the exact PDF copy of the dissertation, project or thesis in the form originally submitted.
Step 8: After confirming that the documentation and information are satisfactory, select Back to Previous Page or Back to Dashboard to return to the relevant entry.
Step 9: Tick the oath checkbox and carefully read the declaration before continuing. By ticking the box, the committee makes the prescribed institutional declaration concerning the research work being submitted.
Step 10: Select Submit Entry to complete the submission of the research work. The committee can then repeat the process for other eligible works it has selected.
Deadline for submission
Institutions have until August 31, 2026, to complete and submit their entries for the competition.
What happens after institutional submission?
Once entries have been submitted, they will pass through a three-stage assessment involving the Institution Committee, the Regional or Zonal Committee and the National Committee.
The National Laureate Committee, chaired by Emeritus Professor Abubakar Sambo, will supervise the final stage of the evaluation.
The multi-level process is intended to promote transparency, competition and merit, with particular attention given to academic excellence and the impact of the research.
The successful laureates are expected to be formally recognised at a National Laureate Gala later in the year, with November previously indicated as the expected period for the ceremony.
