Tencent Co-Founder Charles Chen’s Yidan Prize Honors Education Leaders From Stanford, New Education Initiative

The Yidan Prize Foundation, a global philanthropic educational foundation set up by Tencent Holdings co-founder Charles Chen, announced two winners of its 2022 Yidan Prize today.

The prize recognizes individuals and teams who have contributed significantly to education research and education development.

Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, professor emeritus of Stanford University and the president of the Learning Policy Institute, received the 2021 Prize for Education Research. “Darling-Hammond has spent 40 years at the forefront of researching how students learn best, and how education policy and practice can ensure all students have access to well-prepared educators and inclusive classrooms,” Yidan said.

Dr. Yongxin Zhu received the 2022 Yidan Prize for Education Research and Yidan Prize for Education Development. “Professor Zhu’s highly influential programs boost teacher and student motivation,” Yidan said. Zhu founded the New Education Initiative more than 20 years ago that has reached over 500,000 teachers and over eight million students across China.

Each laureate will be awarded HK$30 million — approximately $3.9 million, half of which is a project fund – enabling a series of innovative and progressive education projects to scale up and support millions of learners globally.

The 2021 Yidan Prize for Education Research Laureate, Professor Eric A. Hanushek, is using the Prize funds to set up the Yidan African Fellows Program, a network of local policy fellows with an aim to improve education decision-making across sub-Saharan Africa, Yidan said. In India, 2021 Yidan Prize for Education Development Laureate Dr Rukmini Banerji is working with Pratham to develop, test and refine early years programs and expand collaboration with local governments. These programs are expected to benefit 35,000 children across 650 communities.

Click for a 2017 profile of Chen. Shenzhen, China-headquartered Tencent is one of the world’s largest Internet businesses.

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