OVERVIEW
The APEC Science Prize for Innovation, Research and Education (“ASPIRE”) is an annual award which recognizes young scientists who have demonstrated a commitment to both excellence in scientific research, as evidenced by scholarly publication, and cooperation with scientists from other APEC member economies, including inclusive and interdisciplinary collaborations.
The ASPIRE Prize supports APEC’s mission to:
∙ Strengthen international science and technology networks;
∙ Enhance economic growth, trade and investment opportunities in harmony with sustainable development, through policies, innovative R&D and technologies, and knowledge sharing; and ∙ Improve linkages and efficiency between research and innovation.
ASPIRE 2025 NOMINATION THEME:
Toward AI-BIO CONVERGENCE: AI-BASED INCLUSIVE BIOTECHNOLOGY SOLVING SOCIAL CHALLENGES
For its host year of 2025, the Republic of Korea selects the ASPIRE Prize theme: “Toward AI-Bio Convergence: AI-based Inclusive Biotechnology Solving Social Challenges.”
This theme highlights the transformative and innovative potential of converging artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnology to address pressing societal challenges of our time — including health inequities, aging populations, food insecurity, and environmental degradation. By integrating AI with biological sciences, this approach opens new frontiers in healthcare, environmental sustainability, and public well-being, to be accessible, equitable, and beneficial to all segments of society.
The 2025 theme seeks to promote scientific research and innovation that apply AI-powered biotechnology to improve lives and foster inclusive development. Examples include AI-assisted drug discovery for rare or neglected diseases, precision agriculture and food security enabled by bioinformatics, environmentally sustainable bioengineering solutions, and public health interventions tailored through data-driven genomic analysis.
This theme encourages collaboration across borders and disciplines, bringing together experts in biotechnology, AI, data science, genomics, biomedical engineering, computer science, medicine, public policy, environmental science, and health equity. It also underscores the importance of equity in access to these innovations, ensuring that all populations—regardless of socioeconomic status, geography, or background—benefit from the outcomes of scientific progress.
Nominees should demonstrate excellence in scientific research and show commitment to cross-border cooperation among APEC economies. Special consideration will be given to those who embrace interdisciplinary and inclusive approaches, and whose work embodies the convergence of AI and biotechnology to create meaningful solutions to social challenges across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
ELIGIBILITY
Any citizen of an APEC member economy is eligible to be nominated for the ASPIRE Prize. He/she must be at the time of his/her nomination and be under the age of 40 as of 31 December of that year (i.e., all 2025 nominees must be under the age of 40 as of 31 December 2025).
SELECTION PROCESS
Each member economy, through its representative of the APEC Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation (PPSTI), is invited to nominate one young scientist under the age of 40 to be considered for the 2025 ASPIRE Prize.
Once nominations are received, PPSTI members rank the nominees through a selection ballot to determine the winner. PPSTI members are asked to judge the nominees based on how well they have demonstrated:
∙ Excellence in scientific research, as evidenced through scholarly publication;
∙ Commitment to cooperation with scientists from other APEC member economies; and ∙ Contribution to the theme of “Inclusive science, technology, and innovation for a resilient and sustainable environment.”
ASPIRE PRIZE SPONSORS
The Ministry of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea, the host economy for APEC 2025, is generously sponsoring the 2025 ASPIRE Prize with an award of $25,000 USD in prize funding.
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