Addressing the event, Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue praised the success of the first VinFuture Prize and the contributions of research to improving human lives, particularly the work of developing coronavirus vaccines.

He said that if protecting human health was the great challenge in 2021, ‘Reviving and Reshaping’ is the urgent issue the world has had to face in 2022.

This is the theme VinFuture 2022 chose following the COVID-19 pandemic, embodying VinFuture's mission of enlisting science in the service of humanity, said Hue.

He said he believes that the VinFuture Global Science and Technology Award, which honors scientists with excellent research works of high application, creating a sustainable living environment for future generations, is doing its mission well.

“It is not only a strong link between Vietnamese and foreign scientists, but also a bridge for researchers and inventors around the world to realize great scientific aspirations to serve humanity. As Dr. Katalin Kariko, one of the grand prize winners in the first VinFuture competition, said, ‘Through VinFuture, world scientists have a better understanding of a Vietnamese nation that is strongly reaching out to the world,’” according to Hue.

Three special prizes worth 500,000 USD each were also presented.

Professor Thalappil Pradeep of India won a Special Prize for innovators from developing countries for his invention of a low-cost system for filtering water contaminated with arsenic and heavy metal.

The Special Prize for innovators with outstanding achievements in emerging fields was bestowed upon Dr. Demis Hassabis of the UK and Dr. John Jumper of the US, who developed an artificial intelligence system that decodes protein sequences.

The Special Prize for female innovators honoured Professor Pamela Christine Ronald of the US, who succeeded in isolating the Sub1A gene to create a condition for developing flood-tolerant rice varieties.

Five scientists won the VinFuture Grand Prize, worth 3 million USD, namely Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee (the UK), Dr Vinton Gray Cerf (the US), Dr Emmanuel Desurvire (France), Dr Robert Elliot Kahn (the US), and Prof. Sir David Neil Payne (the UK), who made breakthrough inventions in global internet connection technology, which have comprehensively changed means of communications and working and laid a stepping stone for modern socio-economic development.