South Australian women changing the world: Winnovation Awards 2020 Finalists announced

Tuesday, October 27th, 2020 - Newsmaker

South Australian women with a vision to change the world have been recognised for their work and commitment to excellence in the 2020 Winnovation Awards Finalists list.

The finalists were selected by independent judges from a record field of applicants who vied for 11 awards categories across science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics.

Nicole Swaine, President of Women In Innovation SA, said the awards elevate and celebrate the role of female innovators across all industries, research institutes and government.

“We had a record turnout this year, perhaps surprising in such a time of uncertainty,” Ms Swaine said. “Feedback from our judges was that they were blown away by the quality and had a very difficult task in making their selections.

“We commend all our entrants who contribute to making South Australia a more innovative state. By innovating, every single one of them creates a ripple effect, creating new opportunities for jobs, furthering research, and generally improving our quality of life.”

JUDGES' COMMENTS

" This year's applicatons were of an extremely high standard. Any of them would be a worthy winner in their respective category. I must say it was a pretty tough but inspirational job scoring them all." - Paul Mertin, State Manager of Bendigo Bank

"What a fantastic cohort of SA Innovators. I was just blown away by the quality and relevance of their projects. It was very difficult to separate a number of entries." - Paul Huxtable, Good Design Ambassador

WINNOVATION AWARDS EVENT - LOT FOURTEEN

This year the Winnovation winners will be announced on November 19 at Lot Fourteen’s innovation hub, as part of the 3-day State of the RE:Union Festival.

“WInnovation's Annual Awards Gala will not be possible this year due to COVID restrictions," Ms Swaine said. "Instead the event will be delivered to a national audience using hybrid event technology, with the board, finalists and sponsors attending as part of our live audience."

Book here to secure your Winnovation Awards Watch Party Tickets https://events.humanitix.com/winnovation-awards-watch-party

“We are delighted to partner with SouthStart as part of the State of RE:Union Program, and have some surprises in store to make Winnovation 2020 memorable,” Ms Swaine said.

“Next year we plan to celebrate our 2020 finalists and winners again in person.”

WINNOVATION AWARDS 2020 FINALISTS

Please see the complete list of awards finalists below.

Young Innovator - Sponsored by the SA Department of Education

Leah Itsines, BARE - a balanced and realistic eating guide (pic attached)

BARE is an evidence based, innovative online guide for women looking to become leaner, fitter, stronger and more confident.

Janhvi Sirohi, Feel the Beatz

Feel The Beatz is a social media platform that provides easy accessibility to the world of dance while providing opportunities for unrecognised talent.

Kira Bain, Kaurna Language in Schools, Tauondi Aboriginal College

Ms Bain is the creator of a series of custodian-endorsed teacher resource packs to support Kaurna language in schools, addressing the current lack of a language curriculum.

Science - Sponsored by SA Department of Environment and Water

Dr Christina Bursill, Heart disease prevention research, SAHMRI

Novel nano-sized particles for detecting and preventing heart disease

Assoc Prof Lyndsey Collins-Praino, "Cagefighting" neurodegenerative disease, University of Adelaide

A new nanomedicine based strategy to halt the spread of neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Dr Manuela Klingler-Hoffmann, making personalised medicine a reality for women with ovarian cancer; Future Industries Institute, UniSA

Dr Klingler-Hoffmann is fulfilling the vision to make personalised medicine a reality by developing disruptive laboratory technology.

Technology - Sponsored by Madderns Patent Attorneys

Alice Fitch, Whola

Whola makes buying better for fashion retailers - search, compare and buy the best stock instantly.

Talei Stewart, Security Risk Manager Platfrom

Security Risk Manager (SRM) Platform keeps people safe by making smart software universally available (in both quality and price) where only 5% of the industry currently use them.

Lyndsey Jackson, Platfarm

Platfarm makes any tractor a smart tractor by getting data off the map and into the field, so growers can turn insights into action, simply, with just a smart device.

Engineering - Sponsored by the University of South Australia

Kelly Keates, Liquid Integrity Systems, Zonge Engineering

Liquid Integrity Systems is a real-time leak detection system for industrial use such as wastewater storage.

Dr Christiane Schulz, innovative protective coatings, Future Industries Institute, UniSA

Dr Schulz is tackling a $30 billion problem of wear and tear through innovative surface cladding systems that extend the life of mining industry machinery components by up to five times.

Arts - Sponsored by Zonte's Footsteps

Jelina Haines, Past and Present: Indigenous Elder Knowledge

Weaving the past to the present: understanding how Indigenous Elders’ knowledge is created, synthesised,and translated, and understanding the ethical dissemination of both cultural stories and communal activities.

Celia Craig, Artaria

Artaria offers immersive audiovisual online experiences which deliver an engaging interface inviting you to enjoy classical music: unique, world class artistry and instruction, direct to a global audience.

Jordan Bell, Aunt Jodie’s Guides

"Aunt Jodie's Guides" use the power of story-telling to bring grown-up science to little minds, inspiring a love of STEM, and informing our future citizens.

Maths & Data - Sponsored by the Office of the Chief Entrepreneur / FIXE

Selina Tually, The Australian Alliance for Social Enterprise

A framework for supporting evidence-building and knowledge-translation within the Adelaide Zero Project, the ambitious effort to end street (rough sleeping) homelessness in Adelaide’s inner city.

Niusha Shafiabady, Computational mathematics: Ai-Labz

An Artificial Intelligence Tool that gives everyone the opportunity to harness the power of AI, even those with no knowledge of AI and programming

Katie Gloede, STEMfooty, Adelaide Football Club

STEMfooty is a free bespoke integrated program for schools, using AFL as the vehicle to engage the interests of students (in particular females) in STEM curriculum and pathways.

Rural, Regional & Remote - Sponsored by Bendigo Bank

Dr Alice Jones, Climate action through coastal ecosystem conservation and restoration

Managing South Australia's coastal ecosystems to help reduce climate change and its impact on coastal communities.

Mary Retallack, EcoGrowers, Retallack Viticulture

EcoGrowers is enhancing the biodiversity and resilience of EcoVineyards throughout South Australia.

Tanya Weiler, The Aboriginal Pathway Program

The Aboriginal Pathway Program boosts university participation of regional and remote students through an innovative and tailored academic program which builds academic skills and confidence.

Open

Katie Gloede, STEMfooty, Adelaide Football Club

STEMfooty is a free bespoke integrated program for schools, using AFL as the vehicle to engage the interests of students (in particular females) in STEM curriculum and pathways.

Simone Douglas, The Duke Of Brunswick

Ms Douglas has created a venue that is living proof that catering to the diverse needs of wider society is a winning business model, not just a nice idea.

Eddie Blass, Inventorium

An innovative, fully student centred, online high school option that gets disengaged kids back into learning and creating their future.

Emerging Innovator - Sponsored by Stone & Chalk

Allys Todd, ValAi

An AI, machine learning and distributed ledger platform that accurately predicts values for assets beneficial for managing investment and lending decisions.

Lyndsey Jackson, Platfarm

Platfarm makes any tractor a smart tractor by getting data off the map and into the field, so growers can turn insights into action, simply, with just a smart device.

Marion Vigot, Mister Rye (pic attached)

Ms Vigot has worked with South Australian farmers to produce the first Australian rye straw, 100% home compostable and the first truly sustainable alternative to imported drinking straws.

Innovation & Intrapreneurship in Government - Sponsored by Deloitte

Serena Yang, Nation-leading Disaster Waste Management, Green Industries SA

Green Industries SA’s nation-leading foresight to include Disaster Waste Management in the State Emergency Management Plan was successfully put to the test in the 2019-2020 South Australian Bushfire Season, proving that managing post-disaster debris impacts positively on the community’s resilience and recovery.

Michelle English, Championing low carbon transition and innovation in Adelaide, City of Adelaide

Working within the City of Adelaide for a municipal council to embrace low carbon and climate ready solutions as an area of innovation and economic development.

Alex Keay, People Centered Design (PCD) framework for local council, Unley Council

Empowering Council staff to use a People Centred Design approach when responding to community challenges, particularly when designing services and providing them online.

Social Impact - Sponsored by SA Power Networks

Tanya Weiler, The Aboriginal Pathway Program

The Aboriginal Pathway Program boosts university participation of regional and remote students through an innovative and tailored academic program which builds academic skills and confidence.

Marion Vigot, Mister Rye

Ms Vigot has worked with South Australian farmers to produce the first Australian rye straw, 100% home compostable and the first truly sustainable alternative to imported drinking straws.

Selina Tually, The Australian Alliance for Social Enterprise

A framework for supporting evidence-building and knowledge-translation within the Adelaide Zero Project, the ambitious, collaborative effort to end street (rough sleeping) homelessness in Adelaide’s inner city.