The Hong Kong Prize was established to recognize excellence in local history research. Each year it is awarded to an exceptional research postgraduate student with an outstanding record of achievement in their field of study. It began with donations of HK$100,000. Friends and relatives of Professor Wang Gungwu donated this amount, which later saw Government matches of equal amount through the Matching Grant Scheme; today this has grown into an award of approximately HK$70,000 per year.
The 2024 award winner will receive a grand prize of HK$10,000 while runners-up will each receive HK$5,000 as additional incentives for their work. In addition, winners will have an opportunity to present their submission to key development partners in Hong Kong.
Over 617 entries were received from 12 English and Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong, covering topics spanning all aspects of city life. The judges were immensely impressed with the high-quality writing displayed here and extended their congratulations to all winners for their incredible achievements.
As part of their first prize award, the first place was given to an image showing a bleeding man being attacked with a hammer by an anti-government protester masked with an anti-government mask and distributed widely via social media, reminding people who made sacrifices in defense of our freedoms and democracy. A story about discovering a hidden village within Hong Kong revealed another side to life there while third prize went to an informative report about volunteer police protection of migrant workers as well as an examination of its diverse ethnic communities won third place.
HKJC also provided an impressive prize pool of 20.8 million Hong Kong dollars ($2.2m). Aside from gold medalists earning their HK$9 million prize pool, athletes placing in the top four will also receive HK$750,000 while fifth and sixth-place athletes will each be rewarded with HK$375,000; team events have doubled up the stakes: gold, silver and bronze medalists receiving 12m, 6m and 3m in prize money respectively.
The BOCHK Science and Technology Innovation Prize, administered by the Hong Kong Alliance of Technology and Innovation with sponsorship by Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, is a merit-based award that recognises outstanding scientists, research teams or institutions affiliated with Hong Kong higher education institutions for their scientific or technological innovation, invention or transformation achievements, as well as contributions made towards society or economy. Winners will be announced during an awards ceremony scheduled this year – for more information or applications click here for details or September 30 application deadline. Good luck to everyone participating!