The InnovationAus Awards for Excellence 2023 program is officially underway, with entries now open for a six-month program of celebration, highlighting amazing Australian entrepreneurs and innovators, and their incredible products and services.
The Awards program will culminate in a massive, bigger-than-Ben-Hur black-tie dinner celebration at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, putting a big spotlight on the current crop of outstanding individuals and their innovations.
The InnovationAus Awards for Excellence are designed to reflect the editorial reporting of the InnovationAus.com website. We are horizontal in outlook by design – our goal is to bring together different industries and different technologies, to smash together connections across the ecosystem.
For 2023 we have tweaked our categories, opening up more top awards for individuals, as well as focusing in on the strategic technology that has been declared a priority by government. A list of categories is below.
For now, here is what you need to know:
- Early-bird entries are open from Monday April 3 and will be accepted at the discounted early-bird rate until Monday 17 April
- Entries for all categories will officially close on June 2
- Our finalists will be announced in late August – with each finalist being given the opportunity to be profiled in the pages of InnovationAus.com
- The InnovationAus Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner celebration will be held at the Hordern Pavilion on Wednesday November 1
In the coming weeks we will announce an esteemed group of judges from across the industry who will select finalists, and then the ultimately winners in each category.
The top prize for the night – the Australian Hero Award – is selected by a special panel of judges from the pool of winners from each category.
“There is a huge sense of optimism in Australia right now among our entrepreneurs and innovators. It really is a great time to be active in our ecosystem,” InnovationAus.com publisher Corrie McLeod.
“It really is a tremendous privilege to host these Awards for Excellence. Each year brings forward outstanding people and products, and to put them all in a room at a Gala Dinner with 500 like-minded optimists for a mass networking event is inspiring,” Ms McLeod said.
The InnovationAus Awards for Excellence are in its third year. But its alumni winners list is already quite spectacular.
Previous Australian Hero Award winners include Q-CTRL (Michael Biercuk) and Sea Forest (Sam Elsom) – who shared the award in the inaugural year – are both legends. And the 2022 Australian Hero Samsara Eco (Paul Riley) is building out a whole new industry sector to great success.
“These are legends of our industry, and it is a great thrill to be able to honour them,” Ms McLeod said.
Other category winners have gone on to similar success. Advanced Navigation is literally a global leader in its field and has continued to raise substantial funds; Drone Shield is now listed on the ASX; and Gilmour Space Technologies is writing its own legend (and is only just getting started.)
The awards program puts money in the room with our Deep Tech and commercial research innovators. If you have an interesting product or service, even if you are at the start of your commercial life, these awards are for you.
Consider the categories. If your are a finalist, we would love to profile your company and to introduce you around.
- Creative Technology and Software
- Cybersecurity
- Defence, Dual-use technology and Space
- Energy & Renewables
- Food & Agritech
- GovTech Project, Product or Service
- Health Tech
- Industry 4.0
- Manufacturing Innovation
- Software Innovation
- People’s Choice Award
- Translation Hero Award
- Australian Hero Award
