Member Article

BT Dynamites 16: North East’s IT awards open

BT Dynamites 16, the region’s IT and technology awards, are open for entries.

Now in their third year and organised by north east IT network Dynamo, the awards will culminate in a glittering gala dinner on Thursday, October 20 at Newcastle’s Civic Centre banqueting hall.

Last year’s awards attracted more than 100 entries with more than 300 guests attending the gala dinner. Winners included Ubisoft, Omlis, the Cloud Innovation Centre, The Dev Academy, HMRC and Bede Gaming.

This year’s call for entries follows another successful year for Dynamo. As well as the successful Dynamo conference held in June and addressed by speakers including the then Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey and Snapchat’s Vice President of Content, Nick Bell, the growing network has been busy on other fronts.

Charlie Hoult, Chair of Dynamo, explained: “Dynamo’s initiatives include the UK’s first IT apprentice hub, the Northern Futures UTC and now trailblazing for the National Institute of Smart Data Innovation – a £30m direct investment in the region, which will help the quality jobs market and boost our standing in the Northern Powerhouse.

“There is much to celebrate in the North East’s IT economy across industry, academia and careers. Through our awards we want to help identify the breakthrough players and the established stars and ensure they gain the recognition and respect they deserve.

“The awards are a perfect way to showcase the remarkable strength of our sector here in the north east.

“Many, if not most, of our winners from the first two Dynamite awards have gone on to greater things – grown further, employed more people, made a greater contribution to the region’s economy.

“Dynamites 16 will honour the very best we have to offer, rewarding innovation and excellence in a regional sector having an increasing role to play nationally and even internationally.

“I’d like to thank our headline sponsor, BT, for their continued support, and I’d also like to thank our generous category and programme sponsors.”

The experienced judging panel consists of the following leading IT players: Alan English, Managing Director, Wherewithal Consulting; Jen Hartley, Inward Investment Director, Tech North; John Hunt, Director, Orchard Information Systems; Prof Alastair Irons, Head of Computing, Engineering & Technology, University of Sunderland; Phil Jackman, Head of ICT, NEICT (Chair of the Judging Panel); Lindsay Phillips, MD, HPE and Simon Roberson, Regional Partnership Director North East, BT.

Categories are:

Dynamite Innovator of the Year (sponsored by Capgemini UK PLC) Dynamite Collaborator of the Year Dynamite Skills Developer (sponsored by South Tyneside Council) Dynamite Growth Explosion (start up, high growth and established) (sponsored by NRG) Dynamite Project of the Year (corporate and academia/public sector) Dynamite Rising Star Dynamite Future Workforce Dynamite for Outstanding Achievement (sponsored by BT)

Dynamo was established in 2013 by Mr Hoult and Bob Paton, then Managing Director of Accenture, and works to grow the North East IT economy through promoting the region as a hub for the enterprise IT sector. It is made up of IT organisations and employers, technology hubs, educational establishments, local government and employer support initiatives, and concentrates on growing the tech sector through providing a focal point.

There is one simple nomination form to complete in order to enter the awards, and these can be downloaded at www.dynamonortheast.co.uk, with the closing date for entries being Monday, September 12.

Tickets for the gala dinner are also available through the Dynamo website.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Dynamites IT Awards .