Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation Names Joy Olayiwola as Oxford Scholarship Winner

The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation has named Joy Ugonma Olayiwola as the winner of its 2026 Master of Public Policy (MPP) Scholarship. She will study at the University of Oxford.

The foundation shared this news in a statement. The scholarship will help Mrs Olayiwola pursue her MPP at the Blavatnik School of Government.

This scholarship started in 2017. It is meant for Nigerian public servants and helps them with postgraduate studies in public policy at Oxford.

With this 2026 award, a total of 34 Nigerian public servants have now received the Aig-Imoukhuede MPP Scholarship to study at Oxford, as noted by the foundation.

The foundation mentioned that the scholars have used what they learned in areas like healthcare, institutional reform, and fighting human trafficking.

Mrs Olayiwola is a graduate of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation Public Leaders Programme. She also works as an Assistant Director at the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA).

She leads the Smart Geospatial and ICT Unit at GeoApps Plus Limited. With over 17 years of experience in public service, she focuses on digital systems, data-driven solutions, and building institutional capacity.

Mrs Olayiwola expressed her desire to better understand how policy, institutions, economics, and people work together in public decision-making.

She is particularly excited to learn from public servants from various countries and see what methods might work in Nigeria’s situation.

“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.

Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, the Executive Vice Chair of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, commented on the scholarship. He 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.”