Tapping into the latest trends in information and telecommunications technology, Jacob Colker has combined volunteering, the internet and mobile phones to pioneer a new form of activism in which almost anyone with a smartphone can devote spare minutes — waiting for the bus or to see the doctor — to a useful charitable or scientific task.

Over 40,000 volunteers have now signed up for “micro-volunteering," carrying out a wide range of tasks, from helping NASA identify galaxies by examining their shapes to translating the CVs of newly arrived immigrants who are looking for work. Colker will use his Rolex Award to expand micro-volunteering to more internet uses and gain publicity to “encourage millions of people to volunteer."