The University of Oxford has named the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Professor Fatima Kyari, as the 2026 Aig-Imoukhuede Visiting Fellow.
The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation said in a statement that Kyari would undertake the six-month fellowship at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, beginning in September 2026.
The fellowship, delivered in partnership with the Blavatnik School of Government, supports exceptional public-sector leaders in deepening their understanding of critical policy challenges and developing practical solutions to strengthen public institutions.
The foundation said Kyari would join a distinguished group of public-sector leaders who had previously held the fellowship, including former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega; former Chief Justice of Ghana, Justice Georgina Wood; former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru; and Director-General of the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, Funke Adepoju.
It said fellows spend six months engaging with leading scholars and practitioners while developing policy insights they can apply in their home institutions.
Kyari’s fellowship research will focus on how Nigeria can expand medical education as a strategic public-sector reform while improving quality, strengthening health workforce capacity and responding to changes in the healthcare labour market.
The research will also produce practical policy recommendations to improve governance, regulatory stewardship, and the implementation of large-scale reforms in health and medical education.
Kyari, a clinician, has worked across healthcare delivery, medical research, health policy, medical education, professional regulation and institutional reform.
At the MDCN, the foundation said she was leading efforts to strengthen medical education and professional regulation as Nigeria seeks to expand its healthcare workforce amid persistent workforce and migration challenges.
Speaking on the fellowship, Executive Vice-Chair of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, said Kyari represented the type of public-sector leadership the foundation sought to promote in Nigeria.
She described such leaders as those who identify problems, ask difficult questions and work to build institutions capable of delivering better outcomes.