The Singapore Prize is an annual literary award given by the National University of Singapore (NUS). It aims to identify and celebrate a wide range of literature that reflects the diverse cultures of Singapore. It also seeks to recognise the importance of reading in the development of a society. The award carries a cash prize of $30,000 and a trophy. It is the largest in Singapore’s literary landscape. The award is the successor of the Epigram Books Fiction Prize, which was founded in 1968 and was previously Singapore’s richest literary prize.
The 2023 ceremony of the global environmental prize founded by Britain’s Prince William will be held in Singapore, organisers announced on Monday (May 15). The Earthshot Prize, launched in 2020, gives five winners PS1 million each to help them scale up their solutions. These projects must focus on helping to create a waste-free world, fixing the earth’s climate, reviving oceans and restoring nature.
NUS has unveiled the 2021 shortlist for its Singapore History Prize, a literary award for non-fiction and fiction works with a strong historical theme. Professor John Miksic’s Leluhur: Singapore Kampong Gelam won the top prize of $50,000. His book refutes the common misperception that Singapore’s history began with Sir Stamford Raffles’ arrival in 1793 by highlighting archaeological findings which indicate that the city-state’s history goes back more than 700 years.
Another NUS-based literary prize has been launched, this time in conjunction with DBS. The Spirit of Singapore Book Prize will reward works that champion mindsets and values that have helped shape the nation, including equality, diversity, religious harmony and meritocracy. It will recognise both fiction and non-fiction titles, as well as books published in Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil.
For the second year running, NUS’s annual sports awards have been awarded on Saturday (March 29). Swimmer Yip Pin Xiu won both the women’s and men’s senior swimmer of the year accolades for her performances at the Tokyo Games. NUS student football player Joshua Chua also won the men’s senior best player award for his performance at the Asian Games in Doha.
The NUS Life Sciences and Engineering Faculty has also awarded its biennial Dean’s Scholarship to a graduating student who is excelling in the biological sciences. The scholarships are worth $100,000 each and will be awarded to the winning students from the NUS Medical School, School of Biological Sciences, School of Chemical Engineering and School of Physical Science. The scholarships are supported by an endowment fund donated by the late NUS Dean of Sciences Prof Savio Boey. The awards were presented by NUS President Prof Tony Tan and Vice-President for Academic Affairs Prof Tham Hui. NUS also announced the names of the recipients of its Distinguished Alumni Awards, which are based on contributions to the community. The inaugural Lee Kuan Yew World Cities Prize was also awarded on March 14, with Vienna being named this year’s winner. Read more about this award and Vienna’s convincing application here.