Prizes established by Phạm Nhật Vượng in 2020
Award
| VinFuture Prize |
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| Awarded for | Groundbreaking scientific discoveries and technological innovations that have the potential to make a significant difference on a large scale. |
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| Country | Vietnam |
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| Presented by | The VinFuture Foundation |
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| 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) |
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| First awarded | 2021; 3 years ago (2021) |
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| Website | vinfutureprize.org |
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The VinFuture Prize is an annual international award that honors remarkable scientific breakthroughs and promotes innovations for mankind, with involvement from 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]
The vision of the VinFuture Prize is to catalyze meaningful change in people's everyday lives through tangible and highly scalable improvements in areas such as productivity, prosperity, connectivity, health, safety, environment, sustainability, as well as their overall happiness regardless of socioeconomic status.[2]
History
Establishment
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 Vietnamese conglomerates, is investing in the world's most extraordinary brains in the STEM field with the launch of VinFuture Foundation in 2020, to help leverage Vietnam's position on the global science map.
Founders
Chairman Phạm Nhật Vượng and his wife, Mrs. Phạm Thu Hương, founded the VinFuture Foundation as an independent organization with the mission of honoring 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 2021, the Foundation hopes to honor and inspire such innovations.
The VinFuture Prize Council
The VinFuture Prize Council is a global and diverse team of individuals from academia, research, and industry, all of whom are recognised for their achievements in advancing human progress and contributions in the fields of science, technology, and industry. The Prize Council is responsible for reviewing and ratifying the fields of focus and the selection process, as well as selecting the VinFuture Laureates.[3]
The VinFuture Pre-screening Committee
The VinFuture Pre-screening Committee is a diverse team of well-established individuals from varied fields of academia, science, technology, and industry. The Pre-screening Committee is responsible for reviewing and identifying qualified nominations in accordance with the selection criteria set by the Prize Council and preparing supporting documents for the shortlist before presenting them to the Prize Council.[4]
Award process
Nomination
Many nominations were compiled and qualified by the VinFuture Prize Secretariat, 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, before 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.[5][6]
The nominations will be evaluated by the VinFuture Prize Pre-screening Committee, which is made up of 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.[7][8]
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.[9]
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:[10]
- 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 is 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.[11][12]
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. 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.[11]
The VinFuture Award Ceremony
The VinFuture Award Ceremony will be a formal event attended by Vietnamese government leaders, scientists, and recipients of scientific honors such as the Nobel Prize, Millennium Technology Prize, Turing Award, and others. The Award Ceremony will be broadcast live on local as well as global science and technology platforms.[11]
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."[18] "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 Prof. Friend.[19][20]
Nobel Prize Laureate Sir Konstantin Novoselov commented: "VinFuture Prize will contribute to the promotion of diversity and inclusion in the global scientific community".[21]
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