Yidan Prize Conference Series: The Americas sets an outlook for innovation and evidence-based research in education

EVANSTON, Ill.�- Media OutReach – 24 May 2019
- A diverse array of experts from leading universities,
research firms and nonprofit organizations met at Northwestern University to
explore how research findings may address inequities and improve practice in
education on May 23-24 for the Yidan Prize Conference
Series: The Americas.

Welcoming remark by Dr Charles CHEN Yidan, Founder of the Yidan Prize at the Yidan Prize Conference Series: The Americas

Welcoming remark by Northwestern University President Morton SCHAPIRO at the Yidan Prize Conference Series: The Americas

Keynote address by Wendy KOPP, CEO and Co-founder, Teach for All at the Yidan Prize Conference Series: The Americas

The two 2018 Yidan Prize laureates, Professor Larry HEDGES and Professor Anant AGARWAL exchange insights with educators at the Yidan Prize Conference Series: The Americas 2019

 

Themed “The Future of Evidence
and Innovation in Education,” the two-day conference
explored the future of educational innovation and the role evidence plays in
implementing educational ideals.

 

“So many people share the dream of making the
world a better place through education, and the vision and commitment of the
Yidan Prize is allowing us to take real action,” said Northwestern University
President Morton Schapiro, who offered opening remarks at the conference.

 

“By establishing the world’s largest prize in
education, by recognizing the best work in the field and by creating a network
of regional conferences to build upon the work of its laureates, the foundation
is improving the quality of education on a truly global scale, and so we are
honored to co-host the 2019 Yidan Prize Conference Series in the Americas,” President
Schapiro said.

 

Founder of the Yidan Prize Dr. Charles Chen Yidan
touched on educational innovation in his speech at the conference.

 

“The time is ripe for educators across the
world to learn from each other, and realize education innovation in our own
country,” Dr. Chen said. “At the Yidan Prize Conference Series: The Americas,
we have the privilege to learn from the Yidan Prize Laureates 2018. I see huge
potential for educators to benefit and be inspired from some fruitful exchanges
and collaborations with the Yidan Prize Laureates and high-quality nominees.”

 

He added: “As we engage much deeper
innovative ideas on how education should look like in the future, exchanges of
thoughts and collaborations at a global level would become increasingly
important. I hope the Yidan Prize can be the platform that facilitates inspired
dialogues.”

 

The Yidan Prize is the world’s largest prize
in education. The 2018 laureates — Larry Hedges and Anant Agarwal, Laureates of
the Yidan Prize for Education Research and Yidan Prize for Education
Development, respectively — also took the opportunity to share their insights
on the issues. In addition, the conference saw robust and fruitful discussions
on the following topics: “Synthesizing Research Evidence,” “Increasing Demand
for Research Evidence,” “Expanding Access to Education,” and “Evaluating
Technological Innovation.”

 

This year, the Yidan Prize Conference Series will
visit three continents to explore
new directions for research and highlight the work of the Yidan Prize Laureates.
In March, the Europe edition was held successfully at Cambridge University,
followed by The Americas edition at Northwestern May 23-24. The Asia Pacific edition will take place in Hong Kong on December 3, 2019.

 

To learn more about Yidan Prize and the Yidan
Prize Conference Series, please visit www.yidanprize.org.

About the Yidan Prize

Founded in 2016 by Dr. Charles Chen Yidan, a core founder of Tencent,
the Yidan Prize has a mission of creating a better world through education. It
consists of two awards, the Yidan Prize for Education Research and the Yidan
Prize for Education Development. Yidan Prize Laureates each receives a gold
medal and a total sum of HK$30 million (around US$3.9 million), half of which
is a cash prize while the other half is a project fund. To ensure transparency
and sustainability, the prize is managed by Yidan Prize Foundation and governed
by an independent trust with an endowment of HK$2.5 billion (around US$323
million). Through a series of initiatives, the prize aims to establish a
platform for the global community to engage in conversation around education
and to play a role in education philanthropy.