On Tuesday, May 15, the Infosys Science Foundation (ISF), in an effort to encourage work in research and academia, announced the disbursal of the Infosys Prize to individuals in their 40s, reported The New Indian Express. The prize aimed at accelerating the growth of research will now be awarded to the individuals, not when they are 50 but at 40 years of age.
According to a press release, "The Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) today announced that it is steering the Infosys Prize in a new direction by transitioning from a mid-career prize to an early-career prize, with the objective of rewarding potential and recognizing the promise of future achievement. The upper age limit for prize winners is being revised to 40 years to enable a transformative impact."
The revision comes with the purview of giving a head start to a researcher's career, rather than granting them the prize while they are in the middle of their research.
The founder speaks...
Infosys Founder NR Narayana Murthy informed The New Indian Express about a few changes that will be initiated into the foundation. He said, "The first change is where the age limit is being changed from 50 years to 40 years. Second is, if the winners are outside India, we would encourage them to spend more than 30 days in the country for the next few years."
He further added, "We have created a separate prize for Economics and have combined the two categories namely Social Science and Humanities together."
More about the award
The Infosys Science Foundation is a non-profit trust set up in the year 2009.
The award is presented annually to recognise the accomplishments of researchers and scientists across six categories:
- Economics
- Engineering and Computer Science
- Humanities and Social Sciences
- Life Sciences
- Mathematical Sciences
- Physical Sciences.
Each award includes a gold medal, a citation, and a prize of USD 100,000, equivalent to Rs 83 lakh in Indian currency. This award aims to celebrate research excellence and motivate the younger generation to pursue careers in science and research.
Encouraging a new career path
Kris Gopalakrishnan, one of the co-founders of Infosys, told The New Indian Express, "After 15 years of instituting the Infosys Prize we have looked at the impact the award had, and looked into the successes. Now, we believe that after changing the age limit to 40 years, we can give a longer runway to the winners, we can give them recognition at an earlier stage."
He further hopes that these laureates will transform the area of research, encourage youth, and motivate them to choose careers in science and research.
