The Prototypes for Humanity Awards celebrate the next generation of innovators and their commitment to finding solutions for social and environmental issues.
Since 2017 prizes have been presented to outstanding participants from the showcase each year, awarded to academic innovators who use problem-solving to address challenges of global proportions. An independent jury selects recipients, enabling them to further develop their projects.
In 2023, $100,000 in prizes will be presented to the students and lead professor behind each of the best solutions across 5 categories, reflecting key COP28 themes:
– Nature, Food, and Water systems
– Health, Relief and Safety
– Energy, Efficiency and Waste
– Education, Equality and Communities
– Data science and AI-enabled solutions (across all above)
The selection criteria to the exhibition remain originality, positive impact for people and the planet and use of technology (low or high tech). The level of matching between any given application and the categories above will not be a decisive factor for the exhibition selection.
In 2022, four projects were recognised for their outstanding work under the categories of Environment, Society, Health, and Corporate Solutions, each receiving $25,000 in prizes:
Environment
Aerostat, a smart helium-filled balloon for early forest fire detection
By Merve Kalan. Middle East Technical University, Turkey
Society
AkoFresh, a solar-powered cold storage solution reducing post-harvest loss
By Mathias Charles Yabe, Dhruvika Sosa and Arina Machine. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Health
FormaCyte, a revolutionary Implant for type 1 diabetes management
By Nam Tran, Chi Pham and Chen Yang. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Corporate solutions
Carbon Capture Battery, a solution to generate energy whilst capturing carbon
By Mohammad Saghafifar and Seyed Mojtaba Hashemi. University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
