Joy Ugonma Olayiwola, an Assistant Director at the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Aig-Imoukhuede Master in Public Policy (MPP) Scholarship to the University of Oxford.

The scholarship, awarded by the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, will enable Olayiwola to undertake a Master of Public Policy programme at Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government.

Olayiwola’s selection brings to 34 the number of Nigerian public servants who have received the Aig-Imoukhuede MPP Scholarship to study at Oxford since the programme was established in 2017.

The Foundation said the scholarship is designed to strengthen the capacity of Nigerian public servants through advanced policy knowledge, international exposure and practical skills that can contribute to public service reform and improved service delivery.

Olayiwola, who is also an alumna of the Foundation’s Public Leaders Programme, has more than 17 years of public service experience. She leads the Smart Geospatial and ICT Unit at GeoApps Plus Limited and has expertise in digital systems, data-driven solutions and institutional capacity development.

Executive Vice Chair of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, said the scholarship was based on the Foundation’s belief that strengthening public service requires investing in the people who work within it.

She said the programme would provide Olayiwola with an opportunity to broaden her perspective and develop the capacity to address complex public sector challenges.

Speaking on the opportunity, Olayiwola said she was particularly looking forward to learning alongside public servants from different countries and exchanging experiences on policies and approaches that have succeeded or failed in different contexts.

She said she hoped to bring Nigeria into those conversations with an open mind and identify lessons that could work within the country’s own context.

The Aig-Imoukhuede Scholarship is implemented in partnership with the Blavatnik School of Government and forms part of the Foundation’s broader leadership development initiatives, which include the Aig-Imoukhuede Public Leaders Programme and Visiting Fellowship.