THE Federal Government has officially began the 2026 edition of the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Programme, a new national initiative aimed at identifying, rewarding and promoting outstanding academic research produced in Nigerian tertiary institutions.

In a letter written to all Vice Chancellors, Rectors, Provosts and Commandants of higher institutions last Friday, the Chairman, National Laureate Committee, Prof. Abubakar Sambo, announced that the programme will recognise exceptional undergraduate dissertations, master’s theses and doctoral research(es) from accredited universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, monotechnics, military institutions and other eligible tertiary institutions across the country.”

Backed by an annual prize fund of N365 million, the National Laureate Programme is Nigeria’s most prestigious academic awards for students in tertiary institutions across the country with the objective of promoting research excellence, innovation, commercialisation of research findings and national development.

Announcing the commencement of the inaugural edition, the Chairman called on heads of eligible tertiary institutions to begin immediate preparations for participation.

According to the National Laureate’s guidelines as approved by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, every accredited institution is expected to establish an Institutional Laureate Selection Committee made up of experienced academics with proven research credentials and high ethical standards.

Institutions are also required to formally submit names and designations of the Chairman, Secretary and members of the Committee as part of the implementation process.

Similarly, professional associations across key thematic areas are expected to nominate subject matters expert to support the vetting of entries as part of Regional Laureate Selection Committees.

The approved guideline provides that, following internal evaluations, each institution will nominate up to 18 outstanding research works, comprising six undergraduate dissertations, six master’s theses, and six doctoral theses in the case of universities, or their equivalents for polytechnics, monotechnics, colleges of education, and other tertiary institutions, drawn from the six approved thematic areas, including agriculture, teaching innovation, medicine and health sciences, engineering, science and technology, law, arts and social sciences.

The Programme offers star prizes of N35 million for the undergraduate category, N50 million for the master’s category, and N100 million for the doctoral category.

In addition, 15 Thematic Laureate Awards valued at N12 million each would be presented to other outstanding winners.

The statement issued on behalf of the Committee by its spokesperson, Ita Ekpenyong, held that every nominated student research work must first be submitted to the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) and assigned a valid National Document Number (NDN) before becoming eligible for consideration under the National Laureate Programme.

The Committee said the requirement was intended to strengthen research integrity, improve documentation and preserve Nigeria’s scholarly output within the country’s national knowledge infrastructure.

It further disclosed that the prize would be determined through a rigorous three-tier evaluation process, beginning with institutional assessments, followed by regional evaluations and culminating in national adjudication, a process  designed to guarantee fairness, transparency and merit, while ensuring that only the most outstanding research works emerge at the national level.

To facilitate participation, the committee said each institution’s approved NERD Focal Officer would be required to activate the appointed Institutional Laureate Selection Committee through the focal person dashboard, thereby granting authorised members secure access to manage institutional submissions electronically.

Account to the statement, all participating institutions must submit the list of committee members with the required supporting documentation on or before August 15 while the submission of institutional entries will continue until August  31.

The committee chairman described the programme as a landmark national investment in intellectual capital, designed to elevate academic excellence to national prominence, encourage world-class research, inspire innovation and commercialisation, and celebrate scholars, whose work has the potential to transform lives, industries and the future of Nigeria.

Sambo urged heads of tertiary institutions to provide the leadership necessary for the successful implementation of the inaugural edition.