The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) grants three prizes recognizing outstanding achievement in mathematics education which are awarded every four years at the Opening Ceremony of the International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME).
The Felix Klein Award and the Hans Freudenthal Award recognize outstanding achievement in mathematics education research.
The Emma Castelnuovo Award recognizes outstanding achievements in the practice of mathematics education.
These three awards pay tribute to outstanding scholarship in mathematics education. They serve not only to encourage the efforts of others, but also to contribute to the development of high standards for the field through the public recognition of exemplars. The awards consist of a medal and a certificate, accompanied by a citation. They have a character similar to that of a university honorary degree.
At each International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME), the awardees are announced and medals and certificates of the awards are presented at the Opening Ceremony. Furthermore, the awardees are invited to present special lectures (ICMI Award Lectures) at the Congress.
The Felix Klein Award and the Hans Freudenthal Award were established in 2000 by the ICMI EC. They were presented every two years in each of the odd numbered year between 2003 and 2019. Since 2020, these two awards are presented very four years in the year that an ICME is held. Until 2021 the awardees were announced in advance of ICME. As of ICME-15 (2024) the awardees are announced at the opening ceremony of ICME-15, followed by the giving out of the awards.
The Emma Castelnuovo Award was established in 2013 by the ICMI EC to reflect the ICMI principles to “development of mathematical education at all levels” and “to promote the reflection, collaboration, exchange and dissemination of ideas on the teaching and learning of mathematics, from primary to university level,". The award is named after the Italien mathematics educator, born in 1913 to celebrate her 100th birthday and honour her pioneering work. The first award was presented in 2016. Until 2021 the awardees were announced in advance of ICME. As of ICME-15 (2024) the awardee is announced at the opening ceremony of ICME-15, followed by the giving out of the awards.
For more information about the ICMI awards and the names of past awardees, please refer to the section "Related to this page".
Two Awards Committees (AC), each of six persons, select the awardees. The active members of the AC, except for its chair, are not made known. Only at the time when the terms of committee members expire are their names made public.
The Awards Committees are completely autonomous once appointed. Their work and records are kept internal and confidential, except for the obvious process of soliciting advice and information from the professional community, which is done by the committee chair.
Each AC has full authority in selecting the awardees. Its decision is final and is reported, in confidence, to the ICMI EC via the President of ICMI and then made public.
These three awards are open to nominees from all in the mathematics education community, with the exception of:
(i) current EC members
(ii) current members of either prize committee
(iii) previous winners for the same award.
