Seven innovative minds stand in line for top honours in the inaugural ATNS AVI Awards 2015
Submissions for the inaugural AVI Awards 2015 have been whittled down to seven, for consideration for top spot at the awards ceremony – scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 28 October 2015 at the CSIR ICC in Pretoria. This follows an intensive adjudication process in the past week, that looked at 24 submissions of varying innovative concepts competing for awards.
The AVI Awards 2015, introduced for the first time at this year’s Avi Afrique Innovation Summit, are a platform to showcase and celebrate the sharpest minds and the most brilliant innovations in our country. The awards celebrate creativity and scientific thinking, which remains a critical ingredient to leapfrog Africa into the first-world status.
The Avi Awards are a culmination of the partnership between the Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) and Technology Innovation Agency. (TIA). Both of these institutions have made, and will continue to make, substantial investments in innovation with particular focus on aviation, supported by robust R&D policies and strategies.
ATNS CEO, Thabani Mthiyane says: “The entries received simply shows that our stakeholders are diverse – the media, industry and ordinary South Africans participated. We are encouraged by the commitment and passion shown by all entrants who submitted their work. The message is clear – there is innovation within the aviation space that remains largely undiscovered.”
Submissions were received from far and wide and finalists include, and in no particular order: Dr Mohamed Reza Mia from Pegasus Universal Aerospace, Mr Michael Inggs from the University Of Cape Town (UCT), Mr Siyabonga Kalipa from The Cape Argus newspaper, Ms Tebogo Thamage from The Daily Sun, Ms Maria Davel from Belgium Campus, Mr. Mark Van Wyk from FlyH2 Aerospace and Mr. Paballo Thekiso from The Saturday Star.
The first placed winner on the night will walk away with monetary prize valued at R20 015 accompanied by a trophy and a certificate, second and third placed winners will take home R15 015, trophy and a certificate and R10 015, a trophy and certificate respectively.
Aarti Panday from TIA says: “The Technology Innovation Agency is proud to partner with ATNS in its inaugural Innovation Awards and views this collaboration as key in unlocking the innovative capacity in the Civil Aviation space. We look forward jointly developing local technology solutions to the challenges this industry faces in the areas of advanced manufacturing and other related areas. The 2015 sponsorship is the first step towards realizing this”.
The AVI Awards, which will be held annually welcome submissions covering various categories including Students from Grade 10-12 who may have developed any innovative concept, Emerging Innovators for individuals with no formal tertiary qualifications but are involved in the development of various innovations, Professional Innovators who hold a degree or postgraduate degree, Women Innovators which is a category for women aged between 19 years and above who are involved in aeronautical innovation in any form and lastly Research/educational institutions which is for any institution involved in research or education and this is specific and related to aviation.
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