Entries accepted now through Friday, January 27, 2023
INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 13, 2022) — TechPoint is accepting nominations for its 24th annual Mira Awards, Indiana’s largest, best known and most prestigious technology awards program. People are encouraged to enter themselves or nominate others in 18 different “Best of Tech” award categories, 10 of which are brand new this year.
Entries are expected to come from across all industries throughout the state including technology, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and logistics, agribiosciences, academia and more. The award categories reflect the importance of technology as an enabler of all other industries, as well as TechPoint’s focus on talent pathways into tech careers and the digital innovation that continues to drive disruptive change on a global scale.
“CIOs, IT departments and other tech innovators and entrepreneurs rose to the challenge of growing digital connectivity and productivity during the pandemic ,” said Ting Gootee, president and CEO of TechPoint. “In addition to demonstrated resilience, we are now faced with the opportunity to leapfrog digital innovation roadmaps in a truly transformative manner.
“The proof that accelerated digital innovation has had a largely positive—and oversized—impact on businesses, is that four out of five CEOs (80%) are increasing digital technology investments in 2023, according to Gartner Research,” said Gootee. “In order to recognize these achievements and honor the people behind them, we expanded to 18 Mira Awards and created new categories that match up with what’s happening on the ground right now in tech.”
Mira Award nominees and winners reap millions of dollars in value from brand awareness and promotion, venture capital investment and talent recruitment. Participants also make vital new connections as a result of the awards program’s unique evaluation process and networking features.
More than 50 independent and diverse subject matter experts evaluate and rank the award entries to determine the nominees, which will be announced on Feb. 15, 2023. Next, nominees deliver presentations and answer questions in front of a panel of judges on March 8 and 9, 2023. Following the interviews, the judges deliberate and select the winners. The process culminates in the state’s largest annual tech community event, the Mira Awards gala, which will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2023, at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis.
TechPoint is especially encouraging nominations for, and entries from women, people of color and veterans, as well as LGBTQ and neurodivergent individuals who might not have been as visible in the traditional tech circles of the past.
The Mira Awards gala—a ball gown and black tie event—is often referred to as “Tech’s Biggest Night” and the “Oscars of Tech” for the state of Indiana. A limited number of sponsorship opportunities are available. View the 2023 Mira Awards Prospectus for details on becoming a sponsor.
The 2023 TechPoint Mira Awards categories include:
DIGITAL INNOVATION AWARDS DIVISION
- NEW – Digital Transformation Award
- Focused on corporate teams that are driving digital adoption. This award was specifically created to recognize the pervasiveness of technology and its oversized role in an organization’s success regardless of the core business (i.e. technology, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and logistics, agribiosciences, academia and more).
- NEW – Product Innovation of the Year
- Focused on scientific achievements, tech R&D efforts and other trailblazing discoveries coming from Indiana universities and businesses, or individual scientists, researchers, and entrepreneurs.
- NEW – Product Launch of the Year
- Focused on digital product adoption, go-to-market success and rapid customer adoption achieved through outstanding sales and marketing strategy and execution.
- NEW – Disruptor of the Year
- Focused on new market creation or reshaping, serving overlooked or discontented customers, challenging incumbents, including new spin-outs or corporate innovation activities.
- NEW – Deal of the Year
- Focused on organizations that invest in Indiana tech companies as well as firms and companies that have executed exits in the two years prior. This award is chosen by the executive committee of the TechPoint board of directors.
- NEW – Entrepreneurial Service Excellence Award
- Focused on accelerators, firms and organizations that have demonstrated a strong commitment to helping Indiana entrepreneurs thrive, providing resources, counsel, connections and more.
- Service Partner of the Year
- Focused on professional services firms or internal corporate teams that are creating solutions, products or providing other professional services relating to IT/cyber, design/branding, marketing/PR, legal/accounting, consulting, data science or other.
- Startup of the Year
- Focused on new companies (five years old or younger with less than $5 million in revenue) that have shown the greatest development, market traction and have the most promising potential for success including impressive year-over-year growth, company performance and management team.
- Scale-up of the Year
- Focused on high-growth, innovation-driven, emerging companies (older than five years with less than $20 million in revenue) that have built up market traction beyond the startup stage, focused on company performance and the management team.
TALENT & PIPELINE AWARDS DIVISION
- NEW – Nextech K-12 Computer Science Teacher of the Year ($1,000 Grant)
- Recognizes licensed Indiana computer science (CS) teachers who teach a full CS course at any public, charter, parochial or other school.
- TechPoint Foundation for Youth Bridge Builder Award ($1,000 Grant)
- Recognizes visionary leaders helping underserved students in Indiana access experiential learning that inspires the pursuit of STEM careers. This award is chosen by the TechPoint Foundation for Youth board of directors.
- NEW – Education Impact Award
- Recognizes STEM educators, organizations, coaches, programs and platforms that inspire and open doors for learners of any ages, create economic opportunities and have an undeniably positive impact on student achievement and the future workforce.
- NEW – Mission41K Talent Champion Award
- Recognizes employers that are adopting skills-based talent management, implementing apprenticeships and more. This award is chosen by TechPoint based on data provided through the Mission41K
- NEW – Student Entrepreneur of the Year
- Recognizes exceptional student startup founders and/or operators of any age and experience who have looked outside the box, started something new, and generated momentum, students must be enrolled in K-12 schools or higher education institutions.
- NEW – Tech Team of the Year
- Recognizes small teams within companies or service providers that have achieved a significant milestone in product development, design, discovery, engineering, company advancement or other through demonstrated problem-solving and/or innovation with measured outcomes.
- Rising Entrepreneur Award
- Recognizes exceptional non-student startup founders or operators of any age and experience who have looked outside the box, started something new and generated momentum.
- Exceptional Employer Award
- Recognizes tech companies that are developing talent; advancing DE&I; cultivating workplace culture; and making a positive impact in the community.
- TechPoint Trailblazer Award
- Recognizes visionaries whose contributions have had lasting and significant impact on the state and its technology ecosystem. This award is chosen by the executive committee of the TechPoint board of directors.
The Mira Awards are named after the first of the brilliant variable stars to be discovered—the Mira Star. Mira is also the Latin word root meaning worthy of admiration, wonderful, marvelous. Visit miraawards.com for more information about the awards.
About TechPoint: TechPoint is the nonprofit, industry-led growth initiative for Indiana’s technology companies and overall tech ecosystem. The team is focused on attracting talent, accelerating scale-up companies, activating the community and amplifying stories of success. For more information, please visit www.techpoint.org.
