VinFuture foundation announces 2022 VinFuture webinar series for nominators

The webinar series will take place via Zoom from March 23 to April 19, 2022 and will be tailored for distinct geographic regions and time zones, including: US East and West Coasts, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The webinars will be led by members of the VinFuture Prize Council and Pre-screening Committee and will feature the prize laureates from the first season.

The second VinFuture Prize season, themed “Reshaping and Reviving”, is focused on inventions and scientific initiatives accelerating the world’s reconstruction and sustainable development following the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its official launch on February 16, 2022, the second season has received immense support from the global scientific community, with more than 1,000 organizations and individuals from 81 countries participating as nominators for the prize. To date, the scientific community in Asia has contributed the highest number of nominators with 34% of the total share, followed closely by the Americas with 33%, Europe with 22%, Australia with 6%, and Africa with 5%.

The webinar series aims to provide the latest information directly to scientists worldwide and promote diversity and breadth in all potential areas. Through this series, VinFuture will address inquiries and concerns about the nomination process as well as share practical and inspirational perspectives from members of the Pre-screening Committee, the Prize Council, and especially the first season’s laureates.

VinFuture Prize is an annual international award for breakthrough scientific and technological inventions that have created, or have the potential to create, meaningful changes in people’s lives. Despite being a new award, with the mission of serving humanity and a selection process with high integrity and transparency, VinFuture has already built a strong reputation in the global scientific community.

In the first season, VinFuture received nearly 1,200 nomination submissions from six continents around the world just four months after officially launching the nomination portal. VinFuture’s nominators include institutes of higher education such as Harvard University, Cambridge University, Oxford University, and University of Tokyo, and prestigious organizations such as the National Institutes of Health of the United States, The Max Planck Society of Germany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and more.

The laureates of the first VinFuture Prize season are truly outstanding scientists that have been honored worldwide for their scientific achievements for humanity. The Grand Prize, with a value of US$3 million, was awarded to three prominent scientists: Dr. Katalin Karikó, Prof. Drew Weissman (USA) and Prof. Pieter Cullis (Canada) for the development of mRNA technology, paving the way for the production of effective vaccines to help prevent COVID-19 outbreaks, as well as potential vaccines for HIV, cancer, autoimmune and genetic diseases, helping to protect the future health of millions of people in the world.

2022 nomination portal: https://online.vinfutureprize.org/nomination

For more details about the Prize:

• Detailed instructions about the nomination process and nomination form: https://online.vinfutureprize.org/nomination
• FAQs: https://vinfutureprize.org/faqs/
• Information about the first VinFuture Prize: https://vinfutureprize.org/laureates/

* Webinar Series Agenda:

About the VinFuture Foundation

The VinFuture Foundation, established on December 20th, 2020, on the occasion of International Human Solidarity Day, is an independent, not-for-profit foundation established by billionaire Mr. Phạm Nhật Vượng, and his wife, Madam Phạm Thu Hương.

The vision and mission of the Foundation is to create positive changes in the lives of millions of people in the world. The core activity of the Foundation is awarding the annual VinFuture Prizes to breakthrough scientific research and technological innovations that have already contributed or have the potential to contribute to the betterment of life for people.

The VinFuture Prize consists of four prize categories, of which the Grand Prize – with a value of US$3 million – is one of the largest annual global prizes, and three additional Special Prizes, worth US$500,000 each, are dedicated to Female Innovator(s), Innovator(s) from Developing Country(ies), and Innovator(s) with Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Fields.

In addition, the Foundation also conducts many activities to realize its mission, such as funding research, collaborating in academic development, and promoting STEM education.

2021 VinFuture Prize Laureates

The Grand Prize: Dr. Katalin Karikó, Prof. Drew Weissman (USA) and Prof. Pieter Cullis (Canada) with their breakthrough research on mRNA technology for vaccines.

Special Prize for “Innovators with Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Fields”: Professor Omar Yaghi (USA) with his work on discovering metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)

Special Prize for “Female Innovators”: Professor Zhenan Bao (USA) with her work on developing flexible electronics with the sensing properties of human skin.

Special Prize for “Innovators from Developing Countries”: Prof. Salim S. Abdool Karim and Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim (South Africa), for their Research on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis with Antibiotics virus

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