The Singapore Prize celebrates innovators with bold ideas that solve real-world problems, bringing societal benefits in ways that are innovative and sustainable. It provides a unique opportunity for the next generation of entrepreneurial talent to be crowned the winner of this prize, equipping them with best-in-class support to drive change in the world.

The prize has now opened for 2023 and is seeking to find the best solutions that address a number of global challenges, including accessible design, circular economy and more. It is the first time the prize will be open to a global audience, with applications from across the globe invited to apply.

This year, the prize will be awarded to a project that ‘demonstrates excellence and leadership in accelerating the pace at which new solutions are brought to market and delivered to repair our broken planet.’

As part of the celebrations, the prize will launch a special Earthshot week beginning on Monday 6 November with global events that aim to bring together leaders from government, business and academia. The prize will also host local activations in cities across the world where it will be showcased.

For the first time, the prize will also include a consumer choice award. It will recognise the work of one shortlisted entrant in each category who receives the most votes from consumers, as well as a monetary prize for themselves and their publisher. This year, readers have the chance to vote for their favourite project from the shortlist in categories including English fiction, Chinese poetry and Malay literary works.

Consumer voting closes at 11pm on Wednesday 5 September and you can cast your vote here.

In addition to a public prize, the prize is also offering an Innovation Grant worth $50,000 to one winning team. The money will be used to help the winner develop their idea, furthering their business model and supporting them as they scale.

The prize was launched in 2014 by the Department of History at NUS to spur interest in Singapore’s history and encourage greater discussion about the nation’s place in the world. Its inaugural winner was archaeologist John Miksic for his work Singapore And The Silk Road Of The Sea, 1300-1800, which synthesised 25 years of archaeological research.

NUS History Prize 2021 shortlist

The stories of average Singaporeans take centre stage in this year’s shortlist for the NUS Singapore History Prize, which forgoes the traditional view of history as a record of big movers and shakers. The six works in the running for the prize, which includes historical tome Seven Hundred Years: A History Of Singapore (2019, available here), include Kamaladevi Aravindan’s novel Sembawang (2020, available here), which chronicles life in a housing estate over five decades.

The NUS Singapore History Prize is administered by the Department of History at NUS and is open to non-fiction and fiction works with a significant Singapore element, published in, or translated into, English by authors of any nationality. The work must be available for purchase and distribution, with the exception of self-published works.