- Finalists announced for the WA Innovator of the Year program
- $145,000 in prizes to be shared at the awards ceremony in November 2017
Innovation and ICT Minister Dave Kelly has today announced the finalists of the 2017 WA Innovator of the Year program.
The awards have run since 2006, and acknowledge and reward exceptional innovators in Western Australia who have developed an outstanding innovative product, technology or service.
The innovation must be at the emerging or growth phase of development, and demonstrate an economic, social or environmental benefit for the State.
There are five finalists in the Emerging Category, which is for innovations that are yet to generate revenue. Three companies have been shortlisted for the Growth Category, which recognises innovations already generating revenue.
There are also three finalists for the Young Innovator of the Year award, which is open to high school students taking part in the Just Start IT program.
Winners will be announced at the program's awards ceremony on November 1, 2017.
The list of finalists is available at www.jtsi.wa.gov.au/wa-ioty
Comments attributed to Innovation and ICT Minister Dave Kelly:
"The Western Australian Government is committed to raising the profile of innovation in WA and supporting the growth of the State's innovation-based industries.
"In the lead-up to the awards ceremony in November, all our finalists and semi-finalists will take part in mentoring sessions and workshops on subjects like business management and pitching to investors.
"These sessions are designed to help start-ups and entrepreneurs as they seek to commercialise their ideas."
Minister's office - 6552 6100
WA INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR PROGRAM 2017
FINALISTS
Emerging Category
| Innovation | Company |
| The FAST way to choose the right antibiotic | The University of Western Australia |
| Innovative real-time nodule bacteria identification technology for legumes | MALDIID Pty Ltd |
| MozTrack | WesTech Alliance |
| Ethylene blockers for reducing postharvest losses in fresh fruit, vegetables and other horticultural products | Curtin University |
| Safescape Edge Protector | Bortana Pty Ltd trading as Safescape |
Growth Category
| Innovation | Company |
| BankVault.com | GoPC Pty Ltd |
| Rocks Gone Reefinator | Rocks Gone Pty Ltd |
| DRUMBEAT Quest | Holyoake |
Young Innovator of the Year
| Innovation | School | Team members |
| Gunkies | Bunbury Cathedral Grammar | Lily Roberts and Joanna Otter |
| TOLKA | Como Secondary College | Eito Kito, Quincy Kusnady, Ahmed Al-Dulimi, TaeYoung Ham, Matthew Van Bueren and Raj Pandya |
| Truck Away | Penrhos College | Sarah Bailey, Amy Cole, Monika Gregory, Portia Harding, Sherry Lee and Jemma Schofield |
Woodside Oil & Gas Encouragement Award
| Innovation | Company |
| 3D Mineral Scanner | Reservoir Rock Technologies |
| Mobile Microgrid™ | Eteknology Pty Ltd |
| Ovass Geospatial Platform | Ovass Pty Ltd |
| OzQube Overwatch | Picosat Systems Pty Ltd |
South 32 Designing for Excellence Encouragement Award
| Innovation | Company |
| Safescape Edge Protector | Bortana Pty Ltd trading as Safescape |
| emapper - an environmental platform using remote sensing data to monitor and manage minesite rehabilitation performance | Astrong Environmental Services Pty Ltd |
| Shutdown Maintenance Optimisation | Onesun Pty Ltd |
| Predictive Data for Preventative Measures in Safety & Mental Health | Tap into Safety |
