Member Article

Last chance to enter BT Dynamites 16 Awards

A LAST call has gone out for entries into the region’s IT and technology awards.

BT Dynamites 16 Awards will culminate in a glittering gala dinner on Thursday, October 20 at Newcastle’s Civic Centre banqueting hall – but potential winners only have until next Monday, September 12, to get their entries in.

Last year’s awards attracted more than 100 entries and more than 300 guests attended the gala dinner. Last year’s winners included Northumbrian Water; Ubisoft; Newcastle City Council; Bede Gaming; Nathan Fuller from Northumbria County Council and DevAcademy.

Rachel Peacock, Managing Director at DevAcademy, said of last year’s success: “Winning the Future Workforce category was a great boost for us. There were some very impressive companies competing and so it was a wonderful surprise for us to win.

“Recognition of our unique business model and how we’re tackling the IT and digital skills challenge was fantastic. We’d encourage other businesses to submit their entries as it’s a great platform to showcase in front of some of the biggest companies in the UK.”

Chair of Judges for the awards, Phil Jackman, said he was anticipating a bumper crop of exciting entries: “The awards are already established as the region’s most prestigious in terms of IT and technology and the number of entries we’ve had to date is very encouraging.

“IT and technology now play a fundamental part in the region’s economy and it is right and proper that we recognise and reward the innovation and inspiration that keeps us at the forefront of the sector nationally.

“We want to ensure that start-ups and established players get the respect their work deserves – and that the sector as a whole is recognised for the contribution it now delivers to the north east.

“The BT Dynamites awards do all of this – and they’re also a great night out!”

Mr Jackman, who is Chair of the North East ICT Partnership and Head of ICT Services at Durham County Council, is joined on the judging panel by 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; Lindsay Phillips, MD, HPE and Simon Roberson, Regional Partnership Director North East, BT.

BY Dynamites 16 Award categories are:

Dynamite Innovator of the Year (sponsored by Capgemini UK PLC) Dynamite Collaborator of the Year (sponsored by Accenture) 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 (sponsored by Sage) Dynamite for Outstanding Achievement (sponsored by BT)

The awards are now in their third year and are organised by north east IT network Dynamo, which was established in 2013 by Chair Charlie Hoult and Bob Paton, then Managing Director of Accenture. Dynamo 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.

Mr Hoult added: “Tickets for the gala dinner are selling well, so I’d urge companies to book theirs now to avoid disappointment!”

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

The entry nomination form is available at www.dynamonortheast.co.uk, and entries must be submitted by 5pm on 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 .