• The VinFuture Prize is officially open for nominations
  until June 7, 2021.
• There are nine key eligibility criteria for the Grand
  Prize and the three Special Prizes. The call for nominations is
  available at: www.vinfutureprize.org
• The prizes will be awarded for
  fundamental advances in science and engineering that align with the 17
  Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

HANOI, VIETNAM – Media OutReach – 3 February 2021 – On
February 3, 2021, the VinFuture Foundation announced the VinFuture Prize’s
nomination criteria which put the impact on millions of people in the past
or next ten years at the core. The VinFuture Prize is officially open for
nominations until June 7, 2021.

On January 20, 2021,
the Inaugural Prize Council Meeting took place. It was agreed that nominations
will be sought from all nations.

The nomination criteria
have been developed and agreed upon by the Prize Council, which comprises 11
world-renowned scientists. There are nine key eligibility criteria for the
Grand Prize and the three Special Prizes. There are further criteria for
each prize category.

Members
of VinFuture Prize Council and VinFuture Pre-screening Committee gathered in
Viet Nam to agree on the nomination criteria.

In the context of the
global vision for the VinFuture Foundation, the prizes will be awarded for
fundamental advances in science and engineering that align with the 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, including
eradicating poverty and hunger, enhancing health and quality of life, promoting
access to quality education, clean water, and renewable energy, reducing
inequality or addressing climate change.

What makes the VinFuture
Prize’s nomination criteria unique is the requirement for clear evidence of the
impact on millions of people in the past or next ten years. Breakthroughs in
science must result in positive impacts for humankind on a global scale. This
is an integral criterion, consistent with the mission of “creating
meaningful change in the everyday lives of millions of people by promoting
breakthrough scientific research and technological innovations” that VinFuture
has set forth.

The VinFuture Prize
calls for nominations to be submitted by eligible nominators including
recognised organisations such as universities, research institutes, national
academies of sciences, networks, professional associations, technology and
industrial corporates or businesses, incubators, as well as prominent
individuals in relevant fields.

Prof. Sir
Richard Henry Friend – Chair of the VinFuture Prize Council commented: “We
need cooperation on a global scale to tackle the global challenges we now face,
such as infectious diseases, public health and climate change. For these, we
now recognise that science and technology must deliver benefits to all peoples
and all nations. The VinFuture prizes will recognise those whose brilliant
science or engineering can have positive impact on the lives of millions of
people across the planet.”

Concurrent
with the release of the nomination criteria, the VinFuture Prize has officially
opened its call for nominations worldwide from February 3, 2021 to June 7,
2021.

VinFuture
Foundation’s Founder, Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong — Chairman of Vingroup
remarked: “Apart from recognising exceptional scientists worldwide,
VinFuture wishes to promote and bring research work and inventions into life
for the betterment of humankind. I hope that the VinFuture Prize can discover
and recognise the most deserving scientists and inventors as well as projects
that bring about great values to millions of people.”

The
VinFuture Foundation and VinFuture Prize were introduced on December 20, 2020.
As an annual global prize for science and technology, VinFuture Prize is one of
the most valuable prizes to date with its total prize value of VND104.5 billion
(equivalent to US$4.5 million).

Its VND70
billion Grand Prize (equivalent to US$3 million) will be awarded to those
whose groundbreaking research and technological inventions are proven to
possibly better the life of humankind and foster a sustainable living
environment for future generations. Three special prizes, each at VND11.5
billion (equivalent to US$500,000) will be awarded to innovators from
developing countries; female innovators and innovators with outstanding
achievements in emerging fields.

The
VinFuture Laureates are selected by an independent Prize Council – a global and
diverse team of distinguished individuals from academia, research and industry,
all of whom are globally renowned for their achievements and contribution in
the field of science, technology and industry in advancing human progress.

On January
20, 2021, the Inaugural Prize Council Meeting took place. It was agreed
that nominations will be sought from all nations, as set out in
www.vinfutureprize.org. 

After the
meeting, there have been more than 200 scientists and professors from the
recognised universities and research institutes from 20 countries of six
continents showing their interest in becoming official nominators for the
Prize.

Nominators
are from different countries and territories ranging from Algeria, Belgium,
mainland China, Denmark, France, Ghana, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia,
Japan, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Nigeria, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, South
Korea, Sudan, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, to the United
States. Nominators also come from universities such as Cornell University,
Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University,
Tsinghua University, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania,
University of Toronto or Yale University, to name just a few.

The
laureates will be announced in December 2021 and the official award ceremony
will be held in Viet Nam in January 2022./.

The call for
nominations is available at: www.vinfutureprize.org

Info box:

Nine major nomination criteria of the VinFuture Prize:

1. There should be clear evidence,
   or potential, for an end-product or service based on the
   solution, which has an everyday practical application;
2. Solutions should
   have already benefited millions of people in the past 10 years
   for the Grand Prize, or have the potential to benefit millions of
   people in the next 10 years for the Special Prizes;
3. Solutions should be aligned
   with one or more of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development
   Goals;
4. Solutions must
   be scientifically proven (i.e. there should be clear
   evidence of passing relevant scientific trials, and in the case of
   research, it must be empirically proven or widely reviewed);
5. Open to researchers or
   inventors who were involved in developing the underlying solutions, and
   not entrepreneurs or corporates who helped in commercialisation/diffusion
   of the technology;
6. End-products of the research
   should benefit people globally, including those from developing and
   less developed countries, as well as lower-income and disadvantaged
   communities;
7. Open to individuals or
   teams of researchers/inventors;
8. Preference for nominees in
   the active stages of their careers;
9. Same
   individual/team can be nominated for one or more of the VinFuture
   Special Prizes if eligible.