Singapore Prize Winners Announced
The Singapore prize is an award given to people who make significant contributions in the fields of science and technology. It is awarded by the President of the Republic of Singapore. The prize consists of three distinct awards: the President’s Science Prize, the President’s Technology Award and the Young Scientist Award. The winners of these prizes are chosen by a panel of experts who represent different sectors of industry, academia and public research institutes. The winners are also selected based on their innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems such as climate change, clean water, food waste, ocean revival and biodiversity loss.
Britain’s Prince William unveiled a new set of innovations to combat global warming during his visit to Singapore this week. The heir to the British throne stood on a green carpet at Singapore’s Changi Airport for the third annual Earthshot Awards ceremony, which recognised five winners with solutions to protect the environment from the effects of climate change. Celebrities such as Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, actors Donnie Yen and Lana Condor and Australian wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin walked alongside the prince to celebrate the achievements of the winners.
During his trip, the prince also launched the Singapore Prize, a grant of up to $1 million awarded to researchers to fund their ideas that are most likely to solve critical world issues. The competition was held at the National University of Singapore and received submissions from around the globe. This year, the prize received a record number of applications from both researchers and companies.
The Singapore prize has become an important platform for researchers and businesses to showcase their work to a wider audience. The prize is also a way to encourage young talent in the fields of science and technology in Singapore. It is one of the most prestigious awards in Asia and the winning ideas are set to impact the world in positive ways.
In the field of literature, the Singapore prize crowned its first female winner for English poetry and saw two Epigram Books titles win in Chinese fiction and English nonfiction. Straits Times journalist Akshita Nanda won for her debut novel Nimita’s Place, which focuses on two women navigating society’s expectations in India and Singapore. Meanwhile, speculative short story collection Lion City by Ng Yi-Sheng and the SG50-centric memoir Kian Kok by Chia Joo Ming won the English and Chinese fiction awards respectively.
History-themed works also made the list of shortlisted titles, including Sembawang by Jeremy Tiang, which looks at how colonial Singapore was shaped by leftist political movements and detentions, and Leluhur: Singapore’s Kampong Gelam by Hidayah Amin, which shines a light on the heritage royal building at the heart of the community. The shortlist was announced in October and the winner will be awarded $3,000, a trophy and a 12-month Storytel audiobook gift subscription. The winners will be honoured at a gala ceremony in November. Check out the complete list of nominees here.