Internet company Tencent plans to invest CNY10 billion over the next decade to support selected scientists in making original breakthroughs in basic research in mathematics, biology, and the physical and biomedical sciences. The New Cornerstone Investigator Program is led by scientists, funded by Tencent and supervised by the China Association for Science and Technology. The program’s most distinctive feature, compared with other research grants, is that it essentially gives scientists up to CNY5 million per year to pursue their research without worrying about publishing a large number of papers or meeting research goals and deadlines. Applications for the program will be taken from July 1 to September 30, and the candidates will be screened by a committee of well-known scientists. The program aims to identify 60 suitable scientists this year.
Candidates working in the program’s experimental category can receive up to CNY5 million per year, while those in theoretical fields of study can receive a maximum of CNY3 million annually. Wang Wurong, Vice President of Tencent and Secretary General of the program, said the initiative is “people-oriented”, with the aim of supporting 200 to 300 deserving scientists to freely explore and forge original breakthroughs in basic research. Wang noted that in developed countries, non-governmental sources play a substantial role in supporting basic sciences. In China, however, the vast majority of funding for the basic sciences has come from the central government. In 2018, the Chinese government issued a document to encourage companies and society to support basic research, supported by China’s newly amended Science and Technology Progress Law, which went into effect this year.
Zhang Jie, President of the Tsung-Dao Lee Institute at Shanghai Jiaotong University, said the program sets a historic milestone in China’s effort to create an innovative ecosystem conducive to making original breakthroughs, the China Daily reports.
