The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation has awarded its 2026 Aig-Imoukhuede Master in Public Policy (MPP) Scholarship to Joy Ugonma Olayiwola to pursue a Master of Public Policy at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.
Olayiwola will undertake the programme at Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government as part of the foundation’s efforts to strengthen public service delivery, build institutional capacity and promote reforms in Nigeria’s public sector.
She has more than 17 years of public service experience and currently serves as an Assistant Director at the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), where she leads the Smart Geospatial and ICT Unit at GeoAppsPlus Limited.
Her professional experience covers digital systems, data-driven solutions and institutional capacity development. She is also an alumna of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation’s Public Leaders Programme.
Commenting on the scholarship, the foundation’s Executive Vice Chairman, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, said the award reflected the organisation’s belief that improving public service required sustained investment in the people working within the sector.
She said the foundation sought to give public servants opportunities to broaden their knowledge, gain international exposure and develop the capacity to address complex governance 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,” she said.
The foundation said the scholarship programme was established to provide exceptional Nigerian public servants with advanced policy knowledge, global exposure and practical skills to enhance their contributions to public service.
Established in 2017, the Aig-Imoukhuede MPP Scholarship has now supported 34 public servants, following the 2026 award.
According to the foundation, its beneficiaries have contributed to initiatives spanning healthcare delivery, institutional reform, digital systems and efforts to combat human trafficking, among other areas.
Speaking on the scholarship, Olayiwola said she was particularly interested in understanding how policy, institutions, economics and people interact in public decision-making.
“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,” she said.
She added that the international exposure would enable her to learn from the experiences of public servants in other countries while considering how such lessons could be adapted to Nigeria’s circumstances.
“I do not want to approach the experiences simply by comparing who is ahead or behind, but by asking what can work in our own context and how we can contribute to making it work,” she said.
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