Group announces recipient of Oxford public policy scholarship

The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation has announced Joy Ugonma Olayiwola as the recipient of its 2026 Master of Public Policy (MPP) Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford.

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The foundation announced this in a statement, noting that the scholarship will support Mrs Olayiwola’s MPP at the Blavatnik School of Government.

The scholarship, established in 2017, is for Nigerian public servants and provides support for postgraduate study in public policy at Oxford.

Public servants supported

With the 2026 award, 34 Nigerian public servants have now received the Aig-Imoukhuede MPP Scholarship to study at Oxford, according to the foundation.

The foundation said the scholars have applied their learning to areas including healthcare delivery, institutional reform and efforts to combat human trafficking.

Mrs Olayiwola is an alumna of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation Public Leaders Programme and an Assistant Director at the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA).

She leads the Smart Geospatial and ICT Unit at GeoApps Plus Limited and has more than 17 years’ experience in public service, with expertise in digital systems, data-driven solutions and institutional capacity development.

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Recipient speaks on Oxford programme

Mrs Olayiwola said she hopes to deepen her understanding of how policy, institutions, economics and people interact in public decision-making.

She said she was particularly looking forward to learning alongside public servants from different countries and understanding what approaches could work in Nigeria’s context.

“What excites me most about Oxford is not just what I will learn in the classroom, but the opportunity to interact with public servants from different countries that I will learn alongside,” she said.

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She said she hoped to learn from their experiences and bring Nigeria into those conversations.

Commenting on the Scholarship, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, Executive Vice Chair of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, said: “The Aig-Imoukhuede Scholarship reflects our belief that strengthening public service requires investment in the people working within it. We provide public servants with opportunities to learn, broaden their perspectives and develop the capacity to approach complex challenges with greater insight and judgement.

“We are pleased to support Mrs Joy Olayiwola as she takes this next step and look forward to how she will apply her experience to her continued work in public service.”