Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan awarded Golden Globes to 10 outstanding young individuals at the Government Office in Hanoi on Dec. 29.

It was the first time Golden Globes have been presented to outstanding young individuals in information technology, pharmacy and medical technology, biological technology and environmental technology, Nhan said.

Previously, the award was only given to outstanding individuals in information technology.

Each winner received 40 million VND (1,900 USD), four times higher than last year, he said.

The youngest winner at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards was Nguyen Vuong Linh, 18, a student at Viet Nam National University's College of Technology, who won a gold medal at the 23rd International Olympiad in Informatics in Thailand.

"To be the youngest winner of the award was amazing and I feel very proud. I want to thank my teachers and family very much for supporting me," Linh said.

Another winner, Tay-ethnic woman To Thi Nha Tram, 28, said: "The award will motivate me to do more and more scientific research and contribute to national technology development."

Tram, who works for HCM City's Agriculture and Forestry University, won first prize at the 2007 Eureka Student Scientific Research Contest.

Hoang Van Sam, 34, director of the Forestry University's Biology Diversification Centre, hoped the Government would allocate more funds for students studying science.

In response, Nhan said he would ask the Prime Minister to call on the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee to hold discussions with students before March 26.

Nhan also ordered the committee to broaden the awards to include more field of technology.

Meanwhile, the 20 female students from 18 universities were granted a Reward for the Brightest Female Student in Information Technology.

The Ministry of Science and Technology and Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee set up the Golden Globe Awards and the Reward for the Brightest Female Student in Information Technology in 2003./.