Inaugural Design AI and Tech Awards to recognise adoption of design and technology in tackling business challenges

Singapore, 7 November 2024 - To encourage enterprises to harness design AI and technology to tackle real business challenges, The Business Times (BT) and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) have jointly launched the inaugural Design AI and Tech Awards.

The Awards seek to celebrate innovation across startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and large corporations, regardless of size and industry, and set a benchmark that encourages others to foster a culture of continual innovation within their organisations.

The Awards feature three categories:

• Product Design, which honours innovative, technology-driven products, especially those developed by crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries;
• System Design, which recognises large-scale, complex systems whose performance and functionality rely on both advanced technology and the socio-economic context in which they operate; and
• Spatial Design, which highlights spaces that leverage urban analytics, generative architecture, immersive environments, and other emerging or yet-to-exist spatial technologies.

Ms Chen Huifen, Editor of The Business Times, said, "For a new technology like artificial intelligence to gain greater acceptance, entrepreneurs, business leaders and individuals will want to see how others are applying them. This is what the Design AI and Tech Awards aims to do - to flesh out the value and usefulness of AI in solving real problems so that more people and companies can see the potential, more conversations can take place and trust can be built."

Professor Tai Lee Siang, Deputy President and Chief Innovation and Enterprise Officer of SUTD, said, "We hope to see Singapore emerge as a hub for discourse, for invention, and even pioneering new innovation through this unique combination of design and AI."

The Awards is open for nominations till 31 December 2024, and will be assessed by a panel of judges chaired by Professor Tai. He will be joined by:

1. Ms Chen Huifen, Editor, The Business Times
2. Ms Dawn Lim, Executive Director, DesignSingapore Council
3. Ms Farizan d'Avezac De Moran, Senior Partner, GreenA Consultants Pte Ltd
4. Professor John Ochsendorf, Founding Director, MIT Morningside Academy for Design
5. Mr Laurence Liew, Director, AI Innovation, AI Singapore

Submissions will be assessed based on the six criteria of:

1. Design Thinking Process and Strategies;
2. Originality;
3. Use of AI and Advanced Technologies;
4. Ethical Consideration and Circularity;
5. Qualities in Terms of Aesthetic and Functionality; and
6. Impact.

More information on the Awards can be found in the interview with Professor Tai.

Interested enterprises may visit or submit their nominations via the Awards website. The Award categories and eligibility can be found in the Annex.

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ANNEX

Design AI and Tech Awards Categories

PRODUCT DESIGN CATEGORY

This category honours innovative, technology-driven products, especially those developed by crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries.

Examples include but are not limited to electronics, energy, machinery and transportation.

Eligibility

• Open to all enterprises globally, regardless of location.
• Entities with a clear enterprise purpose are encouraged to participate, including:
  • Business enterprises
  • Social enterprises
  • Government-linked companies
  • Charities
  • Non-Governmental Organisations
• The enterprise must comply with the terms and conditions outlined in the nomination declaration form.

SYSTEM DESIGN CATEGORY

This category recognises large-scale, complex systems whose performance and functionality rely on both advanced technology and the socio-economic context in which they operate.

Examples include but are not limited to supply chains and logistics, financial services, healthcare delivery systems, transportation systems, security and defence systems, energy production and distribution systems.

Eligibility

• Open to all enterprises globally, regardless of location.
• Entities with a clear enterprise purpose are encouraged to participate, including:
  • Business enterprises
  • Social enterprises
  • Government-linked companies
  • Charities
  • Non-Governmental Organisations
• The enterprise must comply with the terms and conditions outlined in the nomination declaration form.

SPATIAL DESIGN CATEGORY

This category highlights spaces that leverage urban analytics, generative architecture, immersive environments, and other emerging (or yet-to-exist) spatial technologies.

The different scales of spaces include but are not limited to interiors, buildings and cities.

Eligibility

• Open to all enterprises globally, regardless of location.
• Entities with a clear enterprise purpose are encouraged to participate, including:
  • Business enterprises
  • Social enterprises
  • Government-linked companies
  • Charities
  • Non-Governmental Organisations
• The enterprise must comply with the terms and conditions outlined in the nomination declaration form.