The Singapore Prize is a SG$100 million award designed to recognize and encourage innovative ideas, products, and projects across Singapore. To apply, applicants submit via an online platform. Their submission is then evaluated by an esteemed committee led by Kishore Mahbubani of NUS Asia Research Institute who judges them. “This prize recognizes how shared imagination brings people together,” according to Mahbubani; we must build upon its legacy for a more cohesive and inclusive society.
This year marks the third time since its inaugural presentation by the Singapore Economic Development Board in 2021. This award aims to recognize ideas with potential for becoming profitable businesses, supporting entrepreneurs while encouraging creativity while making an impactful statement to society as a whole.
On 13 November at the Singapore Expo, an awards ceremony was held where winners were recognized by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and were also attended by Singaporean entrepreneurs from different walks of life and members of the business community. A panel of judges comprised former Prime Ministers, business leaders and academicians chose the prize winner for each category.
As well as cash prizes, all winners will also receive an exquisite trophy designed by artist Tan Chun Sing that will be on display at the National Museum of Singapore. Additionally, winning teams are invited to an awards dinner held at the renowned National Restaurants Association of Singapore Dining Room.
This year’s shortlist for the NUS Singapore History Prize showcases both academic work with an introspective edge as well as personal histories that challenge traditional narratives of history as chronicle of big players and events. These include Seven Hundred Years of Singapore by Kwa Chong Guan, Tan Tai Yong and Peter Borschberg as well as Kamaladevi Aravindan’s novel Sembawang from 2020.
Professor Medema won the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize for his efforts in using wastewater-based epidemiology processes to assist society in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Working closely with teams such as National Environment Agency’s Environmental Health Institute and Home Team Science and Technology Agency, his teams collected COVID-19 data from water utilities’ treatment plants – this data allowed for effective planning of water utility responses to COVID-19 outbreak.
Britain’s Prince William unveiled today the winners of his Earthshot Prize award, an annual award that recognizes green innovators. Fifteen finalists from around the globe gathered at Singapore’s MediaCorp Theatre for an awards ceremony hosted by Emmy Award Winner Hannah Waddingham and Golden Globe Actor Sterling K Brown and were given recycled-material trophies as tokens of recognition for their efforts.
Unlike previous awards, this year’s winners weren’t selected via public vote; rather, five individuals who went above and beyond their duties to show kindness and care were chosen by our judges as winners.