The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) of Singapore and SGTech, Singapore’s leading tech trade association, have announced the launch of the fifth edition of the Techblazer Awards.
The awards recognise and endorse Singapore-based organisations that "exemplify exceptional creativity and ingenuity" in developing tech products and services or achieving excellence through successful tech implementation.
This year’s Techblazer Awards introduces a new category - the Carbon Zero Award.
This new award category will acknowledge Singapore-based businesses with tech or tech-enabled innovations that have demonstrated successful integration with business operations and processes with measurable impact on sustainability through the reduction of their carbon footprint.
SGTech Chair, Wong Wai Meng, said that with Singapore Green Plan 2030 underway, introducing the Carbon Zero Award in this year’s edition “highlights the importance of advancing environmental improvements”.
Recognising organisations that contribute positively towards this whole-of-nation movement also accentuates the pivotal role technology assumes in achieving Singapore’s national agenda to achieve long-term net zero emissions by 2050, he said.
The Techblazer Awards also feature the category of Most Promising Innovation, which recognises innovative products or solutions developed by Singapore-registered companies.
To qualify, the product or solution must significantly impact how businesses operate or improve end-user’s quality of life.
Companies must have developed a commercially viable business model around the innovative product or solution to substantiate its potential for long-term sustainability.
In addition, the product or solution must have carved out new growth markets.
Best Adoption award
The Best Adoption award recognises the efforts of Singapore-registered companies, public sector organisations, non-governmental organisations, and social sector organisations that have successfully adopted emerging technologies to digitally transform their businesses.
Past award winners include government agencies, hospitals, airlines, and architecture companies.
Organisations must have co-developed products or solutions with technology companies to gain greater competitive advantage, and show improvements in operational efficiency, productivity, and customer experiences.
The Student Techblazer award recognises innovative ideas with commercialisation potential developed by full-time students from Singapore schools and Post-Secondary Education Institutions.
This award category aims to discover and encourage the next generation of innovators, Wong said.
The submission must demonstrate entrepreneurship through business plans and utilise emerging technologies to fulfil an identified need in the market or establish new markets.
One of last year’s winners was Nanyang Technological University (NTU) which built DementiCare, an app that integrates a suite of online tools and IoT sensors to make it easier for caregivers to care for dementia patients.
IMDA’s Assistant Chief Executive for Media, Innovation, Communications and Marketing, Justin Ang, said: “IMDA’s vision is for Singapore’s vibrant tech ecosystem to usher in the next wave of tech companies that will build world-class products from here, for the world.”
He added that through the Techblazer Awards, “we look to cast a spotlight on innovations in Singapore that will ignite our imagination and inspire other companies to implement more innovative technologies”.
SGTech’s Wong said the awards “is a powerful platform to recognise and celebrate Singapore-based organisations that have demonstrated excellence and innovation in their tech products, services and solutions.
“I hope that the Techblazer Awards will inspire more organisations to blaze the trail for others by pushing the boundaries of innovation and making our little red dot an even smarter one.”
Nominations for the awards are open until April 3, 2023.
The final winners will be announced at the Techblazers Awards Ceremony on August 2023.
Organisations interested in submitting nominations for the awards can do so through the official nomination link available on the Techblazer Awards website.
More information can be found on the Techblazer website.
