Feature: Germany awards int'l young scientists "Green Talents"
Xinhua, October 28, 2016 Adjust font size:
The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) awarded 25 international young scientists, two of whom from China, "Green Talents" prizes on Thursday for their innovative ideas to promote sustainable development.
"Green Talents" award was initiated by BMBF in 2009, aiming at collecting worldwide solutions for sustainable development in environment and society. This year's theme is "Ocean and Sea".
Minister of BMBF Johanna Wanka told Xinhua, as a very important global subject, sustainable development can be promoted with talents from different science disciplines and cultural backgrounds.
Wanka stressed that "Green Talents" award is important to intensify scientific cooperation with China.
Liu Zhu, a Chinese award winner who now undertakes the post-doctoral research in California Institute of Technology in the United States, focuses on climate change and carbon emission study.
He said his research field concerns the challenges facing the whole world and needs global wisdom.
"China is making outstanding contributions to the reduction of carbon emission with its technological developments," Liu said.
Each year the "Green Talents" winners would be invited by BMBF to visit German scientific institutes and enterprises.
Prize winners would also be invited next year by BMBF for a 3-month academic stay as visiting scholars in Germany to further their scientific cooperation with German scientific organizations.
BMBF invited this year specifically all "Green Talents" winners since 2009 to gather again in Berlin on Thursday for an academic conference on sustainable development with representatives from academies, politics and businesses.
Xue Bing, a Chinese scientist who got the award in 2011 for his research on circular economy, chose to cooperate with two German academic institutes in 2012.
"With the connections made then, members from my research team can nowadays make academic communication in Germany," he said.
A total of 25 prize winners in 2016 were selected from about 750 competitors. A number of 182 young scientists from 51 countries and regions have been awarded "Green Talens" awards so far, with 22 of them being from China. Endit