04 May 2018 2018 TIAs Finalists Announced
Celebrating 25 years of technology and innovation across British Columbia
VANCOUVER, BC, May 3, 2018 – The BC Tech Association (BC Tech) announced the finalists for the 2018 Technology Impact Awards (TIAs) today. This announcement kicks off the TIAs’ 25th anniversary of celebrating excellence and innovation in the BC tech sector. In the last 25 years BC has emerged as a leading global tech ecosystem and our tech sector has created innovation that has connected communities and solved important human problems. Throughout this period of rapid change and growth, BC Tech’s TIAs have served as an annual touchstone to mark BC’s significant contributions to our changing world.
“British Columbians are innovators and problem solvers by nature. Pioneers, we have survived and thrived and built modern day BC by embracing new ideas and harnessing new technology,” said Jill Tipping, BC Tech President and CEO. “This innovation is the spirit of BC’s tech sector, and is what drives the accomplishments and passions we will honour at the TIAs this year. We are also celebrating an incredible quarter century of our sector doing good for people, for our province, and for the world.”
The TIAs are the longest-running and largest technology awards program in the province, charting the growing reach and influence of the tech sector. Since our inception, the TIAs have honoured many of BC’s most significant technological breakthroughs, including innovations from STEMCELL Technologies, the largest biotech company in Canada and a global industry leader with distributors in 80 countries; Corvus Energy, whose products are accelerating the shift to clean energy in the maritime sector; UrtheCast, which put two cameras on the International Space Station, including the first ultra-high definition video camera in space; Broadband TV, the third largest video property in the world after Google and Facebook; and Semios, a powerful data-driven platform that enables growers to assess and respond to plant health conditions in real time to improve yields.
The 2018 finalists represent outstanding achievements in a diverse cross-section of industries, including software, health tech, artificial intelligence, financial technology (fintech), e-commerce, and more. The nominations also include companies and individuals from across BC, celebrating the growing tech communities on Vancouver Island and in the Okanagan.
The winners of the 25th annual TIAs will be announced on Friday, June 1st at the Technology Impact Awards Gala, to be held at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The event will be co-hosted by Riaz Meghji who shares BC Tech’s vision of tech as a tool to do good, particularly as a mission-driven Vancouverite and founder of 1Karma.
The 2018 Technology Impact Award Finalists are:
Excellence in Technology Innovation
Excellence in Technology Adoption
Community Engagement
Tech Culture of the Year
Person of the Year
- Jill Earthy, Co-Founder, The RAISE Collective
- Raghwa Gopal, CEO, Accelerate Okanagan
- Judi Hess, CEO, Copperleaf
- Gerri Sinclair, Managing Director, Kensington Capital Partners
- Ray Walia, Co-Founder, Launch Academy
Startup of the Year
Growth Company of the Year
Company of the Year
Other awards to be presented at the Technology Impact Awards Gala include:
Bill Tam Scholarship
Awarded for the first time this year, the Bill Tam Scholarship will be awarded to a BC student pursuing a post-secondary career in technology who best exemplifies the BC Tech values: Be of Service, Succeed Together, Pay it Forward.
Spirit of BC Tech
This new category is a crowdsourced award, with the winner chosen through community voting. The winner of this award will be an individual, company, newsmaker, campaign, or collaboration that best exemplifies the spirit of our BC Tech community. Cast your vote now.
Good luck to all the finalists, and congratulations on your achievements in advancing technology solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing our region, our country, and the world.
About the BC Tech Association
Making BC the best place to grow a tech company has been the mission of the BC Tech Association since 1993. While our members focus on growing their businesses, BC Tech has been providing opportunities for our industry members to collaborate, learn, and grow together. We are dedicated to connecting companies, developing talent, and advocating so our industry and our province thrive. To learn more visit www.wearebctech.com.
Media Contact:
Kathleen Reid
T: 604-724-1242
E: media@wearebctech.com