The BOCHK Science and Technology Innovation Prize, which is organised by Hong Kong Alliance of Technology and Innovation and sponsored by Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, has a total prize money of HK$2 million. It is open to principal authors of research articles published in peer-reviewed journals, with the earliest publication date not prior to 1 January 2023.
This prize aims to encourage young Fellows in the Academy to develop their scientific research skills by acknowledging their achievements. In particular, the Prize is intended to recognise outstanding research in any of the fields covered by the Academy’s scope of activities, namely life science and medicine, new materials and energy, advanced manufacturing, and fintech.
Among other things, the prize fund will provide financial support to research in the areas of public health, medical imaging, bioinformatics, and clinical medicine. In addition, the prize will fund the creation of a new fellowship to promote research in these fields. The aim of the programme is to foster a stronger sense of identity and belonging among young scientists and nurture a new generation of talent in the field of life science and medicine.
The award will be presented to the winner at a ceremony in Hong Kong in December. The winner will receive a cash prize of $1.5 million, and the runner-up will receive $2 million. In addition, the winning team will also receive a grant to further their research.
Hong Kong’s Paris Olympics gold medal winners will receive nearly double the amount of the reward they received in Tokyo three years ago, when fencers Vivian Kong and Cheung Ka Long took home HK$6 million each. The prize money is almost four times less than the HK$15 million that the top two from each event will pocket in the Beijing Games, but still represents an increase on what athletes were offered in the last two Olympics.
As the city continues to push ahead with plans to become a world-class innovation and technology hub, the prize – founded by media mogul Run Run Shaw – is meant to inspire young people in Hong Kong to persist in innovative exploration and to strive for excellence. It is a tribute to Shaw’s vision and his determination that Hong Kong should thrive in this ever-changing world, said Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu.
The Shaw Prize laureates were honoured for their discoveries that have extended the boundaries of human knowledge and widened the horizons of scientific possibilities for humanity. Scott D Emr, the Shaw Laureate in Life Science and Medicine 2021, was recognised for his discovery of the genetic basis for sickle cell anemia and beta-thalassemia, devastating blood diseases that affect millions of people worldwide. Peter Sarnak, a professor at Princeton University, was awarded the Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences for his work on the affine sieve and thin groups.