hk prize is a scholarship that is open to full-time undergraduate students who are currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Business Administration programme. Applicants must achieve a minimum CGPA of 3.0 and demonstrate leadership qualities to apply for the HK Prize. The winning submission will receive HK$5000 and the opportunity to present their ideas to key stakeholders in the development sector.
The 2017 HK Prize winners were announced at an award ceremony on 28 March 2017. Four scientists won the prizes in the categories of Astronomy, Life Science and Medicine, and Mathematical Sciences. The winner of the Astronomy prize was Shrinivas R Kulkarni, George Ellery Hale Professor of Astronomy at California Institute of Technology, who developed new tools to detect millisecond pulsars, gamma-ray bursts and other variable or transient astronomical objects.
In the Life Science and Medicine category, Swee Lay Thein and Stuart Orkin from the National Institutes of Health in the United States shared the prize for their discovery of the molecular mechanisms underlying the fetal-to-adult hemoglobin switch that facilitated treatment for blood diseases such as sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. The Mathematical Sciences prize was awarded to Peter Sarnak, Eugene Higgins Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University, for his contributions in number theory, arithmetic geometry, combinatorics, and dynamics.
For the first time, the prize was extended to a research team or an institution established by Hong Kong higher education institutions and located within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The prize aims to recognise outstanding scientific research carried out in Hong Kong or the Greater Bay Area and encourage the flow of research talent between the two areas.
In addition to the three main awards, the HK Prize also offers a Public Vote Prize and a Judges Prize. The Public Vote Prize is awarded to the student artist whose artwork receives the highest vote from the general public. The Judges Prize is awarded to the student artist whose work receives the highest score from the panel of judges. HK$10,000 is awarded to the school of the Public Vote Prize winner.
The HK Prize is presented by the Society for Hong Kong Studies (SHKS). SHKS was founded in 2018 and is a professional association of scholars interested in studying Hong Kong from both contemporary and historical perspectives. The society seeks to foster the growth of a global community of scholars who share a common interest in advancing the study of Hong Kong. It is a non-profit, non-partisan and international organization. The society is an affiliate of the Association for Asian Studies. SHKS was founded to promote the exchange of ideas among scholars around the world, across disciplines, on their diverse and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of Hong Kong. Its mission is to develop innovative theories, concepts and methods for researching Hong Kong’s multifaceted connections to and significance in the world. In addition, the society will nurture a next generation of Hong Kong Studies researchers. The society is committed to excellence in its scholarship, teaching and outreach.