The Yidan Prize (/i:dan/) is an annual award founded in 2016 by Chen Yidan for "contributions to education research and development". The prize is financed and governed by a (about US$320 million) independent trust. It is a global, inclusive education award which recognizes changemakers who inspire progress in education for a better world, and has been referred to as the largest education prize on Earth.
Prizes
The Yidan Prizes consist of a gold medal designed by ink-brush artist , a cash prize of and a project fund of HK$15 million to each of the winners or winning teams, one for education research, the other for education development. It is supported by a US$320 million endowment. Prizes are awarded at the annual Yidan Prize Awards Presentation Ceremony in conjunction with an education conference.
Adjudication process Nominations are open to everyone. They can be submitted by universities, government agencies, think tanks or educators. The nominations are reviewed by the Yidan Prize Judging Committee, an independent body made up of two panels. Former Director-General of UNESCO, Kōichirō Matsuura, is the chairman of the Yidan Prize Judging Committee. Dorothy K. Gordon heads the Yidan Prize for Education Development judging panel, and Andreas Schleicher heads the Yidan Prize for Education Research judging panel.
Judging criteria include being future-oriented, innovative, transformative, and sustainable.
Laureates
Two awards are given each year, one for education research, the other for education development.
Education Research
+ Laureates for Education Research Year Laureate Image Notes 2017 Carol S. Dweck The award ceremony took place during December 2017 in Hong Kong. 2018 Anant Agarwal 2019 Usha Goswami 2020 Carl Wieman American physicist, for his work in STEM education and for his research-based improvements to university teaching and the transformation of how science is taught in major universities. When awarded the prize, Wieman stated: 2021 Eric A. Hanushek Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University 2022 Linda Darling-Hammond 2023 Michelene Chi 2024 Wolfgang Lutz 2025 Uri Wilensky
Education Development
+ Laureates in Education Development Year Laureate Image Notes 2017 Vicky Colbert The award ceremony took place during December 2017 in Hong Kong. 2018 Larry Hedges 2019 Fazle Hasan 2020 Both from Camfed, a Non-governmental organization (NGO) that seeks to eradicate poverty in Africa through the education of girls and the empowerment of young women, were awarded the prize for their contributions to education for girls and education development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Lucy Lake, CEO of the NGO stated:
2021 Rukmini Banerji CEO of Pratham Education Foundation. 2022 Yongxin Zhu 2023 Shai Reshef 2024 all of War Child Alliance. 2025 Mamadou Amadou Ly Executive Director, Associates in Research and Education for Development.
Worldwide "Educating for the Future" Index In 2017 the Yidan Prize Foundation released a Worldwide "Educating for the Future" Index (researched by the Economist Intelligence Unit) comparing the education in 35 developed and developing economies (ranking by 16 indicators of education policy, "teaching environment" and "socio-economic environment"), placing New Zealand and Canada in the top two places.
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