VinFuture Prize: FAS Nomination Deadline
Date and Time
VinFuture Prize
FAS/SEAS Nomination Deadline: May 4, 2021Sponsor Nomination Deadline: June 7, 2021Award Amount: $3M Grand Prize and $500K in each of three categories: Innovator(s) from Developing Countries, Female Innovator(s), and Innovator(s) with Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Fields
Nominations are invited for the VinFuture Prize, a new annual funding opportunity from the VinFuture Foundation. The prize seeks to honor breakthrough scientific research and technological innovations that create meaningful change in the everyday lives of millions of people. Any research or technological innovation is eligible to be nominated if it positively improves the quality of human life and creates a more equitable and sustainable world by being aligned with one or more of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
The Prize consists of one Grand Prize of $3M; it also consists of three additional prizes of $500K – one in each of the following three categories:
- Innovator(s) from Developing Countries (eligible nominees must be actively working in a developing country, and the focal point of their work should be in that country; please see sponsor’s website for more detail)
- Female Innovator(s)
- Innovator(s) with Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Fields
Both FAS and SEAS may nominate one individual or team in each eligible category (i.e., Grand Prize, Developing Countries, Female Innovators, and Outstanding Achievements), for a total of up to four nominations for each school. Each nomination may be for an individual or a group.
Those interested in putting forward nominations for consideration for the FAS or SEAS nominations should send the following to Erin Hale at erin_hale@fas.harvard.edu by end of day on May 4, 2021:
- Nominee name(s), title(s), department(s)
- Nominee curriculum vitae (limit to two pages)
- Nomination statement briefly summarizing the following in three sections:
- The fundamental discovery of the research/solution/invention (limit 300 words)
- Socio-economic impacts and benefits of the research/solution/invention for everyday lives of millions of people in the past 10 years, or the potential benefits in the next 10 years, and how they are measured (limit 500 words)
- Specify which UN Sustainable Development goals the research/solution/invention aligns with and describe how it aligns with those goals (limit 300 words)
We also encourage you to review the “Key Common Criteria for Nominations” on the nomination information page of the sponsor’s website. A nominator will be expected to write a letter of support for the nominee(s) if selected for the FAS or SEAS nomination.