A record number of people gathered “virtually” from around the country to hear the finalists in the 2020 NZ Hi-Tech Awards announced. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, for the first time the Hi-Tech Awards finalists announcement was live streamed rather than announced at the planned physical events.
Entries have come from right across the country and this is reflected in the line-up of finalists this year, according to Erin Wansbrough, Chair of the Hi-Tech Trust, who says the standard of entries continue to grow every year.
“This year’s finalists span the full spectrum of the hi-tech sector and the country, and the level of innovative tech products and solutions continues to astound us all. It’s awesome to not only see the quality of the entries but also the diversity amongst the entrants.” says Wansbrough.
Several of the local and international judges have commented that the quality of the entrants is at an all-time high this year along with the volume of entries across many categories. They predict that the next phase of judging will prove even more challenging as they select the winners from such a strong pool of finalists.
The local judges are joined by a world class line up of international judges that include Bill Reichert, Pascal Finette, Rohit Shukla, Savannah Peterson, Claudia Batten, Katherine Corich, Craig Fenton, Axel Boye-Moler, Arama Kukutai, Kristy Traill, Emily Close, Pat Kenealy, Richard Keyse, Armand David, Jane Frankland and Andy Lark.
“The last few weeks have been particularly challenging for the judges as they have had to deal with all things Covid-19 related and also work their way through judging the Awards. We are truly thankful to all our judges both here in New Zealand and around the world who give of their own time to assist us with judging during this difficult period.” says Wansbrough.
With so much uncertainty and Covid-19 continuing to impact everybody, the up and coming panel judging will take place remotely instead of the normal face-to-face judging. “We believe that it’s critical the Hi-Tech Awards programme continues but with the new restrictions on travel and gatherings in place a move to remote judging is a logical one. As with the announcement of the finalists we will lead by example as an industry and use the technology available to facilitate the final round of judging.” says Wansbrough.
A decision around the Hi-Tech Awards Gala Dinner scheduled for the 22nd of May will take place shortly. If it is unable to go ahead as planned on that date the event will still proceed at a later date. More information will follow in due course.
The 2020 Hi-Tech Awards finalists are:
PwC Hi-Tech Company of the Year
● Crimson Education
● ezyVet
● Fingermark
● Harmoney
● Serko
● Spidertracks
Coretex Hi-Tech Emerging Company of the Year
● Fuel 50
● JAVLN
● RedShield
● Taska Prosthetics
● Tradify
NZ Growth Capital Partners Hi-Tech Start-Up Company of the Year
● Dawn Aerospace
● Emergency Q
● FileInvite
● Joyous
IBM Most Inspiring Individual Award
● Jenene Crossan
● Michelle Dickinson
● Bruce Gordon
● Mitchell Pham
● Serge van Dam
Callaghan Innovation Maori Hi-Tech Company of the Year
● Emergency Q
● Kiwa Digital
● NZ Trade Group
● Plink Software
Duncan Cotterill Innovative Hi-Tech Software Solution Award
● Orbica
● PaySauce
● Raygun
● RedShield
● Rocos
Kiwibank Hi-Tech Innovative Services Award
● Beca
● Blackhawk
● Darkscope International
● Emergency Q
● Orbica
Endace Innovative Hi-Tech Hardware Product Award
● Dawn Aerospace
● IMAGR
● Manta5
● Shotover Camera Systems
● Tectonus
Paymark Best Contribution to the NZ Tech Sector by an Internationally Headquartered Company
● Humanitix
● IBM
NZTE Best Hi-Tech Solution for the Agritech Sector
● BBC Technologies
● Compac
● PaySauce
● Regen
Xero Hi-Tech Young Achiever
● Jamie Beaton
● Ezel Kokcu
● Michael Lovegrove
● Terry Miller
● Craig Piggott
● Stefan Powell
● Sian Simpson
● Ian White
Most Innovative Deep Tech Solution
● ArcActive
● Mint Innovation
● Tectonus
ATEED Most Innovative Hi-Tech Creative Technology Solution
● IMAGR
● Umajin
● Weta Workshop
Visa Best Hi-Tech Solution for the Public Good
● BRANZ
● Malaghan Institute
● Precision Driven Health