If you’re an athlete hoping to win a medal at the next year’s 2022 Paris Games, you should know that you won’t be alone. As many as 15,000 athletes from 101 countries and regions are expected to take part in the event. Runners who finish in the top 10 will receive a prize of HK$12 million for gold, HK$6 million for silver, and HK$3 million for bronze. Athletes who finish in the top eight will also receive a smaller prize of HK$375,000.
The Hong Kong Alliance of Technology and Innovation, the organizer of the prize, said that young researchers are critical to technological development in the city and the country. The prize will give them more resources to continue their research and encourage more of them to join the industry, he added. In addition to recognizing the top 10 engineers, the award will also provide scholarships and internships for them.
In a press conference, HKIE chairman Simon Yeung said that the Prize will also promote engineering education in higher learning institutions. The Scholarship will be awarded to a maximum of ten engineering students from both Higher Diploma and Associate Degree courses. The Engineering Department of the higher education institution will recommend the winning students to the HKIE, which will then verify and approve the results. The Scholarship will include a certificate and a cash prize of HK$5,000.
A HKIE spokesman explained that the prize will recognize the best engineering students in higher education and the outstanding contributions they have made to the society. He added that the Prize will also encourage more people to take up engineering as a profession.
The HKIE will award the winners in September 2024. The winners will be notified and the Engineering Department of their higher education institution will announce their names on its website for public access. The HKIE will also hold a ceremony to present the prizes to the winners.
Several of the Prize’s winners have received international recognition. Among them, Universiti Malaya alumni Dr Thein Swee Lay became the first Malaysian to win the Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine. Her work uncovered the mechanisms behind the fetal-to-adult haemoglobin switch, making it possible for revolutionary therapies for sickle cell anaemia and thalassemia.
The Prize was established in 2015 to recognise the outstanding scientific researchers who have a strong commitment to advancing Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub. It will be awarded to individuals or teams with scientific achievements that are innovative and significant in their fields of study, with a view to attracting global top science talent, nurturing forward-looking scientists, and building the city into an internationally renowned scientific centre. The Prize will be presented in three categories: astronomy, life science and medicine, and mathematical sciences. For more information, visit the Prize’s official website here. Interested applicants can also find out more about the application procedure here. The application deadline is 15 June 2022. Applicants must submit a full article and a blinded abstract of their research to be considered.