hk prize
The HK Prize is awarded annually to the student of a research postgraduate degree in History who achieves the best overall result in the subject. The prize is named in honour of George B. Endacott, a former lecturer in History at the University of Hong Kong who was responsible, almost single-handedly, for the re-establishment of the Department in 1946 after World War II. It is funded from the donation of his friends and relatives, and matched by the government under the Sixth Round of the Government Matching Scheme.
Despite its small contingent, HK has a strong presence at the Olympic games. Fencing star Vivian Kong clinched the gold medal in the women’s individual epee, while olympic swimmer Siobhan Haughey secured two bronze medals for Team HK. They will all be rewarded with cash prizes from the Jockey Club’s Athletes Incentive Awards Scheme. In addition, olympic champions will be given bonus money from their respective sports associations.
The winner of the prestigious 2024 IPHS Book Prize went to Prof Cecilia Chu for her monograph, Building Colonial Hong Kong: Speculative Development and Segregation in the City. This is the second time that Chu’s work has received this recognition by the International Planning History Society.
She is the first female Hong Kong scholar to win this award, which is regarded as one of the most prestigious in the field of urban planning. In her acceptance speech, she said that her study is based on a wide variety of primary and secondary sources. She also stressed that the aim of her book is not only to contribute to academic debate, but to serve the public by providing evidence-based information to policy makers.
In the same way, the YIDAN prize, established by the HKSAR government, is awarded to those who have contributed significantly to global education. This year’s winners include demographer Wolfgang Lutz, and members from the War Child Alliance, who are dedicated to developing evidence-based care systems in conflict-affected regions. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu congratulated the laureates, saying that the prizes recognise their contributions to creating a better world through education.
Unlike the HK Prize, the Shaw Prize is an international scientific award that recognises individuals in astronomy, life science and medicine, and mathematics. This year’s finalists were chosen from more than 1,000 applications. The Hong Kong Science Museum, in collaboration with the Shaw Foundation, will launch a special exhibition to introduce this year’s finalists and their remarkable achievements.
In case no winners are found in a particular draw, the prize money will be added to a jackpot (Duo Bao Jiang) for the next draw. This can build up to HK$100 million, which is much higher than the regular 1st division prize of HK$8 million. In the event that there are multiple winners, each will receive a portion of the jackpot. However, a maximum of three winners can be declared for this prize. This will ensure the fairness of the prize.