The 2024 best-graduating student of the University of Lagos, David Akanmu, has been selected as a 2024 Knight-Hennessy Scholar.

The Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford University disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the announcement, Akanmu is one of five Africans, the only one from an African-based tertiary institution, selected to join the 2024 cohort which is the seventh and largest cohort since the inception of the award.

The statement also indicated that UNILAG is the only African university among the 60 universities from where the 2024 cohort of 90 new scholars emerged.

“Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford University today announced its 2024 cohort of 90 new scholars, the largest to date. This seventh cohort comprises students from 30 countries who will pursue degrees in 45 graduate programmes across all seven graduate schools at Stanford. For the first time, the cohort includes scholars with citizenship from Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Bulgaria, France, and Sri Lanka.

“Knight-Hennessy Scholars is a multidisciplinary, multicultural graduate fellowship programme spanning all seven schools at Stanford University. Knight-Hennessy scholars receive up to three years of financial support to pursue graduate studies at Stanford while engaging in experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders who address complex challenges facing the world,” the statement reads in part.

The institution added that “scholars are selected based on their demonstration of independence of thought, purposeful leadership, and a civic mindset.”

Stanford University president emeritus and the Shriram Family Director of Knight-Hennessy Scholars, John L. Hennessy, said, “With each new cohort of scholars, I am even more encouraged about the future. The challenges our world faces are only growing more complex, which validates the importance of our mission here.”

In a post on its X handle on Wednesday, UNILAG noted that Akanni is the third graduate of the institution to receive the Knight-Hennessy Scholar Award.

“Akanmu, who is the third UNILAG graduate to receive the Knight-Hennessy Scholar Award, will be pursuing a Ph.D . in Energy Science and Engineering at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.

“He graduated with a perfect Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 5.0 in Civil Engineering at the UNILAG Convocation Ceremonies held in January 2024,” the post read.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Folasade Ogunsola, on behalf of the University Senate and community, congratulated Akanmu on the feat.