Nominations are now open for the Institute of Information Technology Professionals (IITPSA) President’s Awards – which this year includes a new award category for IITPSA members – and which will encompass the theme of “Celebrating leaders in ethical digital transformation”.
IITPSA president Senele Goba says the theme reinforces the IITPSA’s focus on ethical practices and the need for IT professionals to consider the impacts of their work on their communities and environment.
“Digital technologies now drive every aspect of work and life,” Goba says. “Now, more than ever before, it is crucial for IT professionals to be ethical and committed to the public good.”
Leading software and cloud solutions provider, SoftwareOne Experts SA, has been announced as the silver sponsorship of the 2024 IITPSA President’s Awards.
The IITPSA President’s Awards include the Visionary CIO and IT Personality of the Year awards – for over 30 years among the industry’s most coveted titles and awarded only to the most outstanding individuals in their fields.
The IT Personality Award recognises a highly respected and outstanding ICT professional who has made a significant technical or academic contribution to the industry, who has been successful in building a highly-respected IT organisation or business, and who has made a major contribution to the IT profession over a number of years.
The Visionary CIO Award honours a CIO who has demonstrated visionary leadership in using IT to support, grow and transform business and who has established best practice in implementing technology solutions in an organisation.
The Technology Excellence Award is presented to a person or team who has made exceptional or innovative use of technology for an organisation and who has exhibited technological excellence that has delivered measurable benefit for business or the South African economy.
The Social Responsibility/Community Award is presented to a person, team or project that delivers the benefits of IT on a not-for-profit basis into the community or brings the community into the IT space.
The Dynamism in ICT Youth Award recognises a person younger than 25 for exceptional potential or achievement in ICT. Nominees should be nominated by educators, employers, colleagues or mentors and may include students excelling in STEM studies with outstanding bodies of work; young entrepreneurs in the IT sector; and individual up-and-coming IT professionals.
The Fellowship of the Institute Award is given in recognition of a long-serving individual who has made an extraordinary contribution to the institute or the industry.
Goba says the President’s Awards are extending the range with a new category – the Member Ambassador award – recognising exceptional commitment and effort by an IITPSA member to serve as an ambassador of the Institute.
“Without members who participate actively in our activities and evangelise the Institute and what we stand for, we could not have the impact we do,” Goba says. “The IITPSA Member Ambassador award will acknowledge those members who help us deliver on our mandates and expand our reach.”
The Member Ambassador award seeks to acknowledge and celebrate an ordinary IITPSA member who has made notable contributions to the Institute through activities such as writing insightful pieces for IITPSA publications; represented IITPSA at outreach events; actively participated in webinars as a guest, speaker, or host; served as an ambassador for the IITPSA within the workplace and professional networks; and participated in chapter and special interest group (SIG) events.
Nominations will be open until the end of August and the winners will be named at an awards ceremony in November 2024.