VinFuture Prize

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
VinFuture Prize
VinFuture Prize.png
Awarded forGroundbreaking scientific discoveries and technological innovations that have the potential to make a significant difference on a large scale.
CountryVietnam
Presented byThe VinFuture Foundation
Reward(s)The VinFuture Grand Prize with award money of 70 billion VND, approx. 3 million US$, and three additional prizes including Female Innovators Prize, Developing Country Innovators Prize, and Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Fields Prize with the value of 500,000 US$ each (2021)
First awarded2021; 1 year ago (2021)
Websitevinfutureprize.org

The VinFuture Prize is an annual international award that honors remarkable scientific breakthroughs and promotes innovations for mankind, with involvement from world-renowned scientists, policymakers, business leaders, and Prize holders. It is the first influential and worldwide prize to be founded in Vietnam, and it is hosted by the VinFuture Foundation.[1]

History[]

Since 2017, Vietnam has been working to integrate a more comprehensive STEM education and encourage more individuals to pursue careers in the area. With an influx of STEM students in colleges and internationally trained professionals, Vietnam has enormous potential in science and technology. Vietnam has gained widespread praise from the international scientific community for its recent exceptional efforts in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. However, scientific research and development in Vietnam continue to encounter various obstacles, including a lack of funds, support, and infrastructure. VinGroup, one of the most powerful private Vietnamese conglomerates, is investing in the country's most extraordinary brains in the STEM field with the launch of VinFuture Foundation in 2020, in order to help leverage Vietnam's position on the global science map. Chairman Phạm Nhật Vượng and his wife, Mrs. Phạm Thu Hương, founded the VinFuture Foundation as an independent organization with the mission of recognizing breakthrough innovations in science and technology that have the potential to change the lives of millions of people in Vietnam and around the world. With the annual worldwide award - VinFuture Prize – marking its inaugural event in 2020, the Foundation hopes to honor and inspire such innovations.[2][3]

The VinFuture Foundation consists of the Prize Council and the Pre-screening Committee:[4][5]

  • The VinFuture Prize Council is a worldwide and varied group of eminent professionals from academia, research, and business, all of whom are internationally recognized for their contributions to human growth and advancement in science, technology, and industry. The Prize Council is in charge of assessing and approving the emphasis areas and selection procedure, as well as choosing the VinFuture Laureates.
  • The VinFuture Pre-screening Committee is made up of a wide group of well-known figures from academia, research, technology, and industry. The Pre-screening Committee is in charge of assessing and finding qualifying nominations that meet the Prize Council's selection criteria, as well as producing supporting documentation for the shortlist before submitting it to the Prize Council.

Award process[]

Nomination[]

Many nominations were compiled and qualified by the VinFuture Prize Secretariat, well-known scientists in natural science, health science, agriculture, Earth science, environmental science, computer science, and engineering – technology, along with experts in artificial intelligence, renewable energy, biotechnology, new materials, environmental conservation, and other fields, prior to the Pre-screening Round. Compilation and qualification checks are crucial steps in the process of validating each nomination's eligibility and fulfillment, as well as gathering meaningful and diverse data for the overall evaluations. To guarantee scientific integrity, impartiality, and openness, all nominations will be evaluated using rigorous international standards-based review methods. The reward is open to anybody from anywhere, regardless of nationality, gender, age, or economic status.[6][7]

The nominations will be evaluated by the VinFuture Prize Pre-screening Committee, which is made up of prestigious scientists and experts from leading universities, research institutions, technological and industrial organizations around the world, based on three core criteria: scientific and technological advancement, meaningful changes in people's lives, and scale of impact and sustainability. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, together with VinFuture's purpose of making substantial improvements in the lives of millions of people, must be adhered to by the selected candidates.[8][9]

Selection[]

The VinFuture Prize Council will assess the process and choose four ground-breaking scientific discoveries that have had and will continue to have a beneficial impact on millions of people across the world. They are required to make reasonable conclusions based on a variety of perspectives and in consideration of all professional disciplines, scientific domains, and civilizations. Prize winners will be announced at the VinFuture Prize Award Ceremony.[10]

Annually, the VinFuture Prize awards a total of four prizes, including the Grand Prize and three special prizes. The Grand Prize gives $3 million to groundbreaking research or creative technological advancements that improve human lives and enhance equitability and sustainability for future generations. The following are the three special awards, each of which will get $500,000 in financing:[11]

  • Special Prize for an excellent researcher or innovator from a developing nation institute.
  • Special Prize for an outstanding female researcher or innovator.
  • Special Prize for groundbreaking discovery or invention in an emerging field of science or technology that has the potential to make a substantial beneficial impact on mankind in the future.

Award ceremony[]

The Sci-Tech Week and VinFuture Award Ceremony will be held on an annual basis, helping to promote Vietnam as a new destination for global science and technology and laying the groundwork for a multilateral link between Vietnam's scientific and technological community and the rest of the globe.[12][13]

The Sci-Tech Week[]

The VinFuture Sci-Tech Week is a major event that draws thousands of scientists, politicians, and entrepreneurs from all over the world. World-renowned influential scientists will convene in Vietnam to participate in the VinFuture Sci-Tech Week's four main events: a conversation with the Prize Council and Pre-screening Committee, a "Science for Life" Symposium, the inaugural VinFuture Award Ceremony, and a Scientific Dialogue with the inaugural VinFuture Prize Laureates.[12]

The VinFuture Award Ceremony[]

The VinFuture Award Ceremony will be a formal event attended by Vietnamese government leaders, world-renowned scientists, and recipients of prominent scientific honors such as the Nobel Prize, Millennium Technology Prize, Turing Award, and others. The Award Ceremony will be broadcast live on locally as well as globally science and technology platforms.[12]

Laureates[]

Year Ceremony Date Prize name Laureate Nationality Citation
2021 January 20, 2022 The VinFuture Grand Prize Katalin Karikó  Hungary
 United States 		for making a significant contribution to the development of mRNA vaccination technology.[14][15]
Drew Weissman  United States
Pieter Cullis  Canada
Female Innovator Zhenan Bao  United States for research on electronic skins that can stretch and heal like normal skins while also being biodegradable.[14][15]
Developing Country Innovator Salim Abdool Karim  South Africa for the development of a tenofovir gel that can be used to prevent HIV infection in women.[14][15]
Quarraisha Abdool Karim
Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Fields Omar M. Yaghi  United States for designing and synthesizing new types of reticular compounds such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), and covalent organic frameworks (COFs).[14][15]

Reception[]

Professor Sir Richard Henry Friend, Chairman of the VinFuture Prize Council and the Cavendish Professorship of Physics at the University of Cambridge (UK), said: "I am really impressed by the very constructive response from the nominators. We clearly have a broad set of really interesting and exciting nominations. I think there has been real enthusiasm from nominators across the whole world about this prize. That is certainly the impression I have picked up from the enquiries I have received. The connection between science discovery and real impact on everyday lives is really welcomed." "I think that science and technology play a very central role in the development of both economies and societies. The scientific approach has underpinned huge increases in living standards and has allowed unprecedented access to education for all. It does support new businesses, and it does also inform societies about steps that have to be taken in the future.", said also Prof. Friend.[16][17]

Nobel Prize Laureate Sir Konstantin Novoselov commented: "VinFuture Prize will contribute to the promotion of diversity and inclusion in the global scientific community".[18]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "A new sci-tech prize for humanity". Nature.
  2. ^ Agarwal, Umesh (January 1, 2022). "VinFuture Foundation: Inspire And Nurture Vietnam's Future Scientists". TechBullion.
  3. ^ Thompson, David (January 4, 2022). "VinFuture Foundation: Honouring Exceptional Minds In Science To Create Meaningful Changes In Vietnam". Tech Times.
  4. ^ "The VinFuture Prize Council".
  5. ^ "The VinFuture Prize Pre-Screening Committee".
  6. ^ "Vietnam's global Sci–Tech Vinfuture Prize begins pre-screening round". News Direct. August 2, 2021.
  7. ^ "Inaugural VinFuture Prize Award Ceremony – Celebrating 4 Scientific Innovations for Humanity". News Direct. December 20, 2021.
  8. ^ "VinFuture Award Ceremony Week – A gathering of global science quintessences". Taiwan News. January 11, 2022.
  9. ^ "Funding the Future". CNBC.
  10. ^ "Inaugural VinFuture Prize Award Ceremony – Celebrating 4 Scientific Innovations For Humanity".
  11. ^ Racoma, J. Angelo (December 21, 2020). "Vietnamese billionaire launches VinFuture Prize to support R&D and tech innovations, pledges $4.5M annual funding". TechNode Global.
  12. ^ a b c "VinFuture Award Ceremony Week – A Gathering Of Global Science Quintessences". January 12, 2022.
  13. ^ Las, Danny (May 4, 2021). "Promoting breakthrough scientific research and technological innovations [Q&A with Vingroup's Dr. Le Mai Lan]". Tech Node.
  14. ^ a b c d "Vietnam awards $3 mln prize to mRNA vaccine researchers". VnExpress. January 20, 2022.
  15. ^ a b c d "Three scientists with mRNA vaccine technology receive the $3 million VinFuture prize". Tuổi Trẻ (in Vietnamese). January 20, 2022.
  16. ^ "'Really interesting and exciting nominations' in inaugural year: VinFuture Prize Council Chair". Việt Nam News. January 22, 2021.
  17. ^ Friend, Richard (December 27, 2021). "Science and technology are the key to a sustainable future – we must incentivise innovation". The Independent.
  18. ^ "Nobel Prize winner Sir Kostya Novoselov:"VinFuture Prize will contribute to the promotion of diversity and inclusion in the global scientific community"". The Statesman. September 16, 2021.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""