Shortlist revealed for Dynamites22 tech awards

The awards, now in their ninth year and in association Nigel Wright Recruitment, shine a spotlight on successful regional tech companies and recognise the talent within the north-east tech sector.

Many of the region’s leading IT and technology companies have made it on to the shortlist, alongside SMEs and some of the north east’s largest businesses and organisations which have critical IT departments.

Dynamites22 will be held at Newcastle’s Civic Centre banqueting hall on Thursday, November 11.

The shortlistees for this year are:

·      Best Use of Data: Azets Newcastle, Fenwick, Jumping Rivers, Kani Payments, Sunderland City Council, Waterstons

·      Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: Being Woman, Cognassist, Opencast, Success4All

·      Growth Explosion, sponsored by LDC: iamproperty, Mediaworks, Opencast, Serios Group

·      Innovator of the year, sponsored by NEBRC: Haystack, HMRC, iamproperty, Infotel UK Consulting

·      Project of the Year (Corporate), sponsored by Apexon: BAI Communications/Sunderland City Council (Smarter Together to Build the UK’s Leading Smart City), Bulien (Automating Analytics in Human Resources with Alteryx and Power BI), Leighton (British Airways: Manage My Booking), Nomad Digital (On-Board Information System)

·      Project of the Year (Public Sector/ Not for Profit): NEBRC (Incident Response Helpline), Newcastle City Council/Your Homes Newcastle (Housing Plus Pilot), Newcastle College/GNCH (The Great North Children’s Hospital Animated Symptom Management Films)

·      Rising Star, sponsored by Gateshead College: Helen Robson, Connect Health; Ira Watt, Bulien; Jack Walton, Jumping Rivers; Joe Cockcroft, NEBRC; Russell Johnston, XR Therapeutics; Stella Simbo, Success4All

·      Skills Developer, sponsored by Sage: Aspire Technology Solutions, Gateshead College, NHS BSA, SR1 Development

·      Sustainability in Tech, sponsored by BJSS: Aspire Technology Solutions, Kraken IM, SmartCarbon, NBS, Connected Energy

·      Tech for Good, sponsored by tombola: GL Education, Global Teacher, Sage, Success4All

·      Tech Champion, sponsored by Nigel Wright Recruitment: Dan Fitzpatrick, Education Partnership; David Sarginson, Opencast; Martin Wilson, NEBRC

As last year, this year’s categories also include the Dynamites People’s Choice Award. This award winner will be from the shortlisted entries and chosen by a public vote. For a synopsis of those shortlisted and to cast your vote, go to https://www.dynamonortheast.co.uk/poll/10083/

Voting for the People’s Choice Award closes at 5pm on Friday, October 15.

This year’s judging panel was chaired by Ruth Harrison, Global Head of Industry Domains at Thoughtworks, and Dynamo Advisory Board member. Ruth’s fellow judges include: Ashmita Randhawal – Head of Innovation, Sunderland Software City; Ben Upton – Product & Solutions Director, Aspire Technology Solutions; Chris Dresser – Managing Consultant, Nigel Wright Recruitment; Esther Gillespie – Director, Jumping Rivers Ltd; James Holmes – Global Chief Information Officer, The North of England P&I Association Ltd; Jamie Hardesty, Head of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement, Sunderland Software City;  Lisa Harwood – Senior Economic Development & Regeneration Officer, North of Tyne Combined Authority; Mark Jennings – Client Group Managing Director, Accenture UK; Veronica Spowart, – Director of Creative & Digital Industries, Newcastle College.

Representatives from the category sponsors will also joined the panel for their respective categories.

Charlie Hoult, Chair of Dynamo’s Advisory Board, said: “Dynamites22 attracted a record number of entries this year, massively up on previous years and testament to how popular the awards have become. Tickets for the big night are also flying out, so I would urge anyone interested to book early.

“The huge range of successful companies, brilliant organisations and talented individuals is proof of what a vibrant tech sector we have in the north east, and I look forward to what is one of our highlights of the year – it will be another cracking night.”

This year’s awards host will be Tyneside comedian Carl Hutchinson. Over the past couple of years Carl has hosted BBC1’s flagship show The One Show and been seen on ITV2’s The Stand Up Sketch Show. He has also made appearances on BBC Radio 4’s Fred at the Stand and BBC Radio Scotland’s The Good The Bad and The Unexpected.