InnovationAus Awards 2023 entry deadline looms


James Riley
Editorial Director

The final deadline for the InnovationAus Awards for Excellence 2023 is just two weeks away, and we are looking for the nation’s best entrepreneurs, innovators and research translation heroes.

These Awards are not just a one-night celebration of our best and brightest (although the black-tie awards dinner at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney this year promises to be an extravaganza.) The InnovationAus Awards for Excellence is a six-month program of work, with finalists interviewed and profiled across this website.

There are 15 categories that map to the many sectors of our horizontal technology and innovation ecosystem, from manufacturing to cybersecurity to AgriTech to Defence to software innovation. You can see the full list below.

You can find details on how to enter at the InnovationAus Awards web page.

For 2023, we have also added new categories to honour the outstanding contributions of individuals – as opposed to companies or organisations – with The Paul Shetler Disrupter of the Year Award and the Innovation Leadership Award. These two individual awards are free to enter, and are open to self-nominations.

Winners are grinners!

These are national awards. While we host our final dinner in Sydney, like previous years we are anticipating a spread of entries from across Australia. We have encouraged state government industry development departments to work with us to promote active engagement.

The deadline has been extended to June 19. You have just two weeks to get your entries in, or to nominate outstanding individuals for their role in the ecosystem.

“These awards are designed to highlight excellence across the broad spectrum of Australia industry and research and entrepreneurship,” InnovationAus.com publisher Corrie McLeod said.

“Our aim is to get people from different sectors and different silos of expertise to see each other, to understand each other, and to potentially find a way to work together,” she said.

“This results in the best networking event on the innovation calendar, with more than 500 smart, interesting, successful entrepreneurs, financiers, policymakers and research leads all in one room.”

Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Cathy Foley and iconic business leader David Thodey have returned to the program as joint Patrons of the InnovationAus Awards for Excellence and will be in the room to meet with finalists.

The InnovationAus Awards are judged by two independent panels of industry leaders to be announced in the coming weeks. The InnovationAus editorial team including the Publisher have no input into judging. The process is held arm’s length (last year I found out who the winners were as they were announced on stage at the Awards dinner).

The awards are judged across criteria ranging from commercial success (or social impact in the case of not-for-profits or government entities), translation of intellectual property, impact (in relation to everything from job creation to making people’s lives better), non-R&D innovation, as well as applied technology (taking a piece of research or technology innovation and transplanting it to an entirely different sector.) See the awards page for details.

The Awards for Excellence Categories in 2023 are:

  • The Paul Shetler Disrupter of the Year Award
  • Innovation Leadership Award
  • Creative Technology and Software
  • Cybersecurity
  • Defence, Dual-Use Technology and Space
  • Energy & Renewables
  • Food & AgriTech
  • GovTech Project, Product or Service
  • HealthTech
  • Industry 4.0
  • Manufacturing Innovation
  • Software Innovation
  • Translation Hero Award
  • People’s Choice Award
  • Australian Hero Award

For further details of categories and judging criteria, please go to the InnovationAus Awards for Excellence website. You can get in touch with the organisers at awards@innovationaus.com. The online entry process is not onerous.

All judging is carried out by a panel of expert peers independent of InnovationAus.com.

Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.

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