Women in Innovation SA has announced the winners of the its 2021 Winnovation Awards!
The first ‘awake’ sleep apnoea test for breathing problems affecting one billion people worldwide, technology to continuously log bunch weight in wine grapes, and a culturally-responsive way to teach nursing students about First Nations Health were among the 11 winners announced at the Winnovation Awards ceremony on Thursday night (November 4th).
This year’s finalists and category winners are all incredible women, making significant advancements across industries which drive our economy. Not only that, but they are considering the social impact of their work and they understand how they can affect not just the lives of billions of people, but the environment as well.
The Winnovation Awards were announced at a virtual event broadcast from Stone & Chalk, hosted by ABC Radio Adelaide Breakfast presenter Ali Clarke, and featuring a rare interview with Sweat Co-founder and Trainer, Kayla Itsines.
While the awards were unable to celebrated in person this year, the Women in Innovation team are already planning for and looking forward to celebrating and recognising all of our 2021 winners and finalists in a special way next year (stay tuned for that!).
The 2021 Winnovation Awards Winners:
Arts, sponsored by Zonte’s Footstep
Kathy Smart, Joy Everafter Stories – Producing the world’s first, full-length, fully-voiced and interactive English children’s storybook, accessible to blind and deaf children and with character customisation enabling all children to be heroes.
Emerging Innovator, sponsored by Stone & Chalk
Dr Amal Osman, Flinders University – Developing the first ‘awake’ sleep apnoea test to qualify noisy snoring/breathing problems for one billion people worldwide, bringing personalised treatments for a disorder that impacts health and personal relationships closer.
Science, sponsored by the Department for Environment and Water
Helen Banwell, University of South Australia – The use of 3D printed foot models to safely teach scalpel debridement of foot ulcers to podiatry students to improve foot health in those at-risk of amputation.
Technology, sponsored by Madderns Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys
Alice Fitch, Whola – A game-changing B2B fashion wholesale platform, making life better for more than 3,000 registered retailers (25% market penetration) by making their store instantly relevant to their target market. Whola creates scale and grows business, addressing the major pains of retailers and labels.
Engineering, sponsored by the University of South Australia
Amanda Mader, Vine Scout – The development of technology that continuously logs bunch weight in wine grapes, between veraison to harvest, for improved yield estimation accuracy, irrigation management and water-use efficiency.
Maths & Data, sponsored by FIXE
Menasha Thilakaratne, University of Adelaide – Using AI to help unlock new innovations in medicine to create a future with better health and wellbeing outcomes, through the generation of automated novel research hypotheses.
Rural, Regional & Remote, sponsored by Bendigo Bank
Carly Ascott, Bushfire Kids Connect – An Australian-first STEM program delivering education in bushfire awareness and wellness to regional school communities, empowering students to become problem solvers and innovators to help families threatened by future fires.
Social Impact, sponsored by SA Power Networks
Carmen Garcia, Community Corporate – A national recruitment service with a social conscience, supporting corporates to maximise the untapped pool of skills, passion and experience among diverse cohorts including refugees, migrants, youth and women, and to help these groups access work.
Open Category, sponsored by Accenture
Nina Sivertsen, Flinders University – The Malpa Nursing Model, an innovative and culturally responsive way to teaching nursing students about First Nations Health, by incorporating Malpas (cultural guides) in every classroom, bringing the Aboriginal Health Curriculum to life and developing culturally safe nursing graduates with a nuanced grasp of First Peoples’ health needs.
Young Innovator, sponsored by the Department for Education
Mary Kelly, Reusably – A tech platform supporting businesses and ecosystems to facilitate swap systems of reusable containers to help eliminate single-use plastic waste, being trialled on Kangaroo Island.
Innovation and Intrapreneurship in Government
Susie Jones, SA Water – Corporate innovation at scale; evolving innovation at SA Water. Approaching innovation systemically by bringing together people, processes and technology, enabling SA Water to bring life to ideas that deliver value for customers and communities.
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