A global philanthropic education foundation by Tencent co-founder Chen Yidan announced its 2020 laureates on Wednesday.

Carl Wieman, a professor of physics at Stanford University, has been awarded the Yidan Prize for Education Research, while Lucy Lake and Angeline Murimirwa from the Campaign for Female Education have been granted the Yidan Prize for Education Development.

"The outstanding achievements and commitment of this year's laureates demonstrate that in a post-pandemic world, education continues to be of vital importance to solving future problems and creating positive change in individuals," said Chen, founder of the Yidan Prize Foundation.

"This year has been challenging for many in the education system with COVID-19 causing unprecedented disruption to learning and to schools. It is therefore crucial that we champion people with the courage to bring educational change and reimagine the future of education," Chen said.

The laureates will be recognized at the Yidan Prize Awards presentation ceremony and the Yidan Prize annual summit to be held virtually on Dec 7.

Since its inception in 2016, the award honors figures dedicated to global education development.