Yidan Prize
The Yidan Prize is an annual award founded in 2016 by Chen Yidan for "contributions to education research and development". The prize is financed and governed by a independent trust. It is a global, inclusive education award which recognizes changemakers who inspire progress in education for a better world, and has been referred to as the largest education prize on Earth.
Prizes
The Yidan Prizes consist of a gold medal designed by ink-brush artist, a cash prize of and a project fund of HK$15 million to each of the winners or winning teams, one for education research, the other for education development. It is supported by a US$320 million endowment. Prizes are awarded at the annual Yidan Prize Awards Presentation Ceremony in conjunction with an education conference.Adjudication process
Nominations are open to everyone. They can be submitted by universities, government agencies, think tanks or educators. The nominations are reviewed by the Yidan Prize Judging Committee, an independent body made up of two panels. Former Director-General of UNESCO, Kōichirō Matsuura, is the chairman of the Yidan Prize Judging Committee. Dorothy K. Gordon heads the Yidan Prize for Education Development judging panel, and Andreas Schleicher heads the Yidan Prize for Education Research judging panel.Judging criteria include being future-oriented, innovative, transformative, and sustainable.
Laureates
Two awards are given each year, one for education research, the other for education development.Education Research
| Year | Laureate | Image | Notes |
| 2017 | Carol S. Dweck | The award ceremony took place during December 2017 in Hong Kong. | |
| 2018 | Anant Agarwal | ||
| 2019 | Usha Goswami | ||
| 2020 | Carl Wieman | American physicist, for his work in STEM education and for his research-based improvements to university teaching and the transformation of how science is taught in major universities. When awarded the prize, Wieman stated: | |
| 2021 | Eric A. Hanushek | Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University | |
| 2022 | Linda Darling-Hammond | ||
| 2023 | Michelene Chi | ||
| 2024 | Wolfgang Lutz | ||
| 2025 | Uri Wilensky |
Education Development
| Year | Laureate | Image | Notes |
| 2017 | Vicky Colbert | The award ceremony took place during December 2017 in Hong Kong. | |
| 2018 | Larry Hedges | ||
| 2019 | Fazle Hasan | ||
| 2020 | Both from Camfed, a Non-governmental organization that seeks to eradicate poverty in Africa through the education of girls and the empowerment of young women, were awarded the prize for their contributions to education for girls and education development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Lucy Lake, CEO of the NGO stated: | ||
| 2021 | Rukmini Banerji | CEO of Pratham Education Foundation. | |
| 2022 | Yongxin Zhu | ||
| 2023 | Shai Reshef | ||
| 2024 | all of War Child Alliance. | ||
| 2025 | Mamadou Amadou Ly | Executive Director, Associates in Research and Education for Development. |