Nigeria Education Repository and Databank - NERD

01/10/2026

18/09/2026

15/09/2026

HOW A LECTURER WHO IS ALSO A STUDENT CAN SUBMIT HIS THESIS ON NERD

Step 1: Sign in to NERD
Sign in to your NERD account as a lecturer and open the Lecturer Dashboard.

Step 2: Open “My Studentship Status”
From the dashboard menu, select My Studentship Status.

Step 3: Declare Your Studentship Category
Select your appropriate studentship category:
• Undergraduate
• Postgraduate Diploma
• Postgraduate Master’s
• Postgraduate Doctoral

Step 4: Provide Your Programme Details
Enter your programme or course of study and select the applicable programme type, such as:
• Full-Time
• Part-Time
• Sandwich (Vacation/Long-Vacation)
• Distance Learning/Online
• Hybrid or Blended
Also provide your study start year and expected completion year.

Step 5: Confirm Your Studying Institution
Indicate whether your studying institution is the same as the institution where you work as a lecturer.
If it is different, select your:
• Studying institution
• Faculty of study
• Department of study
If the faculty and department are the same as those in your employment profile, use the available convenience option.

Step 6: Provide Your Matriculation Number
Enter your matriculation or registration number. NERD will interpret this number within the studying institution you selected.

Step 7: Review and Affirm the Studentship Oath
Carefully review the dynamically generated studentship declaration showing your institution and programme.
Tick the affirmation box and select Save Studentship and Affirm Oath.

Step 8: Open “Submit My Academic Work”
Return to the Lecturer Dashboard and select Submit My Academic Work.

Step 9: Select “Thesis”
Under Submission Type, select Thesis.

Step 10: Provide the Thesis Details
Enter the title of your thesis and complete the required academic sections, including:
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Literature review
• Materials and methods or methodology
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Recommendations
• References
• Acknowledgements
• Appendices
Review or edit the keywords intelligently suggested from the thesis title.

Step 11: Upload the Required Documents
Upload:
• The complete thesis document
• The signed certification document confirming that the work was duly accepted by your institution
The documents must comply with the displayed permitted file types and maximum file sizes.

Step 12: Upload Figures and a Preview Image
Upload at least one relevant figure or image (relevant to the research).
The first uploaded image will serve as the preview image for the thesis. Do not upload an unrelated personal photograph.

Step 13: Provide the Academic Signatories
Provide complete details for:
• Supervisor — mandatory
• Head of Department — mandatory
• Co-Supervisor — optional
For each applicable signatory, provide the academic title, first name, surname, optional middle name, valid email address and telephone number.

Step 14: Indicate Whether It Is Group Work
If the thesis is group work, select This is a group work.
After saving, you may search for and tag the independently submitted work of the appropriate group members. Each group member remains responsible for making and paying for their own submission.

Step 15: Save the Thesis Draft
Select Save Draft / Continue to Payment.
NERD will save the thesis and direct you to the lifetime hosting contribution page.

Step 16: Make the Lifetime Hosting Contribution
Review the thesis title, studying institution, programme and contribution details.

Step 17: Return to the Saved Thesis
After successful payment, NERD will display:
Payment Successful — Final Submission Required
Review the displayed thesis title, department and institution.

Step 18: Make the Final Submission
Select Make Final Submission.
Confirm that you wish to submit the stated thesis under the displayed department and institution.
NERD will revalidate the thesis, certification, figures, signatories, studentship and hosting contribution before accepting the final submission.

Step 19: Confirm the Final-Submission Status
After successful finalisation, NERD will display:
Final Submission Successful
The confirmation will identify the thesis title, department, institution and submission date.
The thesis status will change from Draft to Submitted.

Step 20: Open “Process My NERD Clearance”
From the Lecturer Dashboard, select Process My NERD Clearance.
Your submitted thesis should appear with its:
• Title
• Submission type
• Department
• Institution
• Programme
• Submission date
• Submission status
• NDN status

Step 21: Open the Thesis Clearance Record
Select View Clearance beside the submitted thesis.
NERD will check the thesis submission, required signatories and the applicable institutional academic records.

Step 22: Obtain the NDN
Once the applicable submission conditions are satisfied, NERD will assign an NDN to the thesis.
The NDN is the unique identification number for that particular academic work.

Step 23: Save the NERD Clearance
Select Save as PDF to download or print the NERD Compliance Clearance containing the thesis details and its NDN.
Keep the clearance document and NDN as evidence that the thesis has been submitted to NERD.

08/09/2026

The Federal Government moves Nigeria from decay to digital preservation.

NERD: collect, verify, and preserve.

31/08/2026

Laureate committee extends submission deadline to September 15
By: Ismail Abdulaziz

The National Laureate Committee has approved an extension of the deadline for submitting institutional entries for the 2026 National Laureate Programme, from

31/08/2026

● Universities, polytechnics get two more weeks to submit top research work Nigerian tertiary institutions have been granted a two-week extension to submit entries for the maiden edition of the National Laureate Programme, with the Federal Government moving the deadline from August 31 to September...

29/08/2026

Guardian Newspaper Report
FG unveils N365m prize for outstanding academic research, innovations

The Federal Government has unveiled the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Prize, with a yearly prize pool of about N365 million

28/08/2026

The Federal Government of Nigeria launched the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Prize, an annual ₦365 million fund to reward outstanding research, innovation, and intellectual excellence in higher education

Overview and Purpose
Initiative: Announced by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, in Abuja.

Implementation: Jointly run by the Federal Ministry of Education and the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD).

Goal: Turn universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education into problem-solving and research-commercialisation centres.

Prize Structure (₦365 Million Total):
Undergraduate Star Prize: ₦35 million
Master's Star Prize: ₦50 million
Doctoral Star Prize: ₦100 million
Thematic Excellence Prizes: ₦180 million split across 15 categories (₦12 million each)

Thematic Categories
Science, Engineering and Technology
Medicine and Health Sciences (featuring the special Dr. Stella Adadevoh Prize for Medicine and Medical Innovation)
Arts and Social Sciences
Agriculture
Law
Teaching Innovation.

28/08/2026

https://www.channelstv.com/2026/08/27/fg-launches-%E2%82%A6365m-national-laureate-prize-for-nigerian-students-researchers/

14/08/2026

National Laureate Committee: Step-by-Step Guide to Submitting Dissertation and Thesis Entries for the 2026 ₦365 Million National Prize

Step 1: Log in to the **National Laureate Committee (NLC) Portal**.

Important: This assumes that your institution has constituted its Institution Laureate Selection Committee and directed its **NERD Focal Officer (NFO)** to enrol and formally designate the appointed members on NERD. Committee members require this designation to access the Laureate Portal using their existing NERD credentials:

https://nationallaureate.ng/login.php

Step 2: On the Laureate Dashboard, click Manage Institution Entries from the top-right menu.

Step 3: The next page will display the dissertations, projects and theses submitted within your institution, grouped under the relevant academic levels: Undergraduate, Master’s and Doctoral, or their recognised equivalents in polytechnics, monotechnics, colleges of education and other accredited tertiary institutions.

Step 4: Use the filters at the top of the page to search for a specific dissertation, project or thesis.

Step 5: Once you locate the work your Committee intends to enter into the competition, click View to review the submission details carefully and confirm that all information is correct.

Step 6: On the View page, click View Submission Evidence to confirm that all required departmental and institutional attestations have been properly supplied.

Step 7: Click Open Authoritative Student File to view the exact PDF of the dissertation, project or thesis as originally submitted.

Step 8: If everything is in order, click Back to Previous Page or Back to Dashboard to return to the relevant work selected by your Committee for entry into the competition.

Step 9: Tick the oath checkbox and read the declaration carefully before proceeding. By ticking the box, the Committee is making the prescribed institutional declaration in respect of the entry.

Step 10: Click Submit Entry.

That completes the submission process for that entry. Your Committee may then proceed to review and submit other eligible works selected by your institution.

Each institution may submit up to 18 entries: up to six Undergraduate dissertations, six Master’s theses, and six Doctoral theses, or their recognised equivalents, drawn from the six approved thematic areas.

All Committee members are strongly encouraged to read the NLC-approved Guideline and Operational Manual before completing their institutional submissions:

https://nationallaureate.ng/laureate_committee_user_guide.php

National Laureate Programme