The shortlist for the Newton Prize 2019 has been anounced featuring 20 research projects tackling pressing health and development issues such as malaria, antimicrobial resistance and climate change.
The Newton Prize celebrates outstanding international research partnerships; the £1 million prize will be divided between four winning projects.
It is designed to enable international research partners to continue working together on solutions to some of the world’s key challenges such as human health, food security and climate change.
Science Minister Jo Johnson said:
“These international collaborations are uniting our world-leading universities with researchers across the globe to transform lives, now and for generations to come.
“I set up the Newton Prize to celebrate the best partnerships between the UK and countries across the world to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges. The shortlist announced today is a testament to that aim with global development priorities firmly on the agenda, including elimination of malaria, and clean energy.”
The list includes projects between the UK and China, Indonesia and the Philippines such as:
- In 2018 the Philippines suffered £24 million worth of losses to rice yields due to drought. One Newton Prize project between the UK and Filipino researchers aims to create elite rice varieties with dual tolerance to salinity and drought to improve food crop performance and enable better planning.
- Infrastructure development is one of the main priorities in developing countries. One shortlisted project between the UK and Indonesia is aiming to improve the safety and sustainability of bridge and housing projects and improve resilience to natural disasters.
- Cites in coastal areas of China and Southeast Asia are heavily populated and exposed to frequent tropical storms, typhoons hazards and heat waves. One shortlisted project between the UK and China has created an assessment tool enabling cities to measure and monitor the factors that contribute to city’s resilience towards climate risk and hazard in the long term.
Research and innovation is a highly effective way to achieve international development goals and improve quality of life for people in developing countries as well as the UK. The shortlisted projects tackle a range of Sustainable Development Goals and contribute to gender equality.
The shortlisted projects have been peer reviewed and will be judged by the Newton Prize Committee, chaired by Professor Alice Gast, President of Imperial College. Professor Gast said:
“I am very impressed by the pioneering ideas, collaborative research and potential impact of the shortlisted applications for the Newton Prize 2019.
“I look forward to working with my fellow committee members to select the overall winners, it will not be an easy decision.”
Three prizes of up to £200,000 each will be awarded to a project with each prize country (China, Indonesia and the Philippines) that demonstrate high quality research and impact, and an additional prize (the Chair’s Award) of up to £500,000 for a project that also demonstrates the best knowledge exchange and partnership development.
During November 2019 the shortlisted projects will be celebrated at award events taking place in each country where the winning project for that country will be announced.
These events will be followed by a UK reception on the 9 December in London hosted by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and compèred by Emily Wilson, Editor of New Scientist magazine.
You can information on the shortlist here