Nomination
Each submission to the International Innovations Awards® (IIA) will be judged by independent pool of innovation experts, academicians and trade journalists who are neither involved in your industry nor have any direct interest from awarding you the award. This ensures that the judging is both impartial & transparent
Categories & Measurement
Product
Measurement
Innovation distinction, Practicality and performance,
Commercial viability, and Social and economic impact.
Criteria
Products submitted must have been invented or commercialized
within the last 12 months prior to submission.
Note: This category is further divided into ‘ideas’ – products that are at developmental stage and has yet to be commercialized, and ‘leaders’ – products that have been launched into the market.
Service & Solution
Measurement
Innovation distinction, Problem solved, Replicability
and institutional support, and Measurable results.
Criteria
Innovative services and solutions, including improved processes (patented or otherwise)
may be submitted under this category, provided such services and solutions commenced
within the last 12 months prior to submission.
Organization & Culture
Measurement
Definition and reach, Impact and sustainability,
Replicability and institutional support, and Measurable results.
Criteria
All registered organizations including businesses,
not-for-profit and government agencies. There is no preset
timeline for the existence of an innovation culture
or program, but these must be demonstrated and
collaborated by third party evidence.
Innovation Leadership
Criteria
By invitation only.
Panel of Jurors
MARTIN DAFFNER
FOUNDER, INNOVATION ARCHITECT &CORPORATE INNOVATION COACH
INNOBRIX
With over 25 years of experience driving innovation and building innovation organizations with firms like Procter & Gamble, Cisco and Avery Dennison, Martin comes with world leading hands-on knowledge and experience turning innovation concepts and ideas into real business outcomes. Martin is also an experienced entrepreneur. In 2012, he began his own innovation practice, working closely with firms like Cisco, TE Connectivity, Unilever and others. Contracted with Cisco Services as their Senior Innovation Architect, Martin developed and deployed a ground-breaking innovation program which was awarded the HBR/McKinsey M-Prize for “Innovating Innovation”, dramatically changing the way Cisco’s Services businesses create, manage and implement their innovative ideas. Martin plays many roles in the innovation ecosystem in Asia, and is currently the Director of Innovation at Hult International Business School in Shanghai and the Senior Principle for IXL-Center in Asia Pacific.
GAYATHRI GOPAL
DIRECTORBOARD OF INNOVATION APAC
Gayathri brings over 10 years of experience in formulating innovation strategies, setting up incubators, designing new businesses and coaching innovation teams in the APAC region. Her career has a good mix of consulting corporates and entrepreneurship. She co-founded a music tech company and a fitness chain.
Her current focus is on making corporates innovate like start-ups. Gayathri’s academic background ranges from engineering, business management & a masters in innovation.
As a consultant, Gayathri has collaborated with broad range of organizations in and food, agriculture, healthcare, telecommunications and automation. She developed foresighting to identify new opportunities as a practice area and is currently exploring the usage of AI to improve efficiency and effectiveness of innovation.
MAKOTO SHIBATA
HEAD OF FINOLAB, CHIEF COMMUNITY OFFICERFINOLAB INC.
Since July 2019, he is in charge of community management and ecosystem development of FINOLAB, FinTech Hub in central Tokyo with 50 startup members and 14 corporate members. In his former position at The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, he was leading R&D initiatives in emerging technology and planning of online/mobile financial services since 1998, involved in a wide range of projects for both retail and wholesale customers. His previous career, starting in The Bank of Tokyo, includes Corporate Planning, Accounting, Corporate Finance, and Retail Customer Services. After leaving the bank in Sep. 2018, he became an Executive Fellow of Japan Digital Design, innovation arm of the bank, and spent 6 months at Oxford University as an Academic Visitor to conduct research on FinTech. He holds Bachelor of Economics from University of Tokyo and Master of Science in Development Economics from University of Oxford.
NADIA MAGNENAT THALMANN
PROFESSOR & DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATIONNANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, SINGAPORE
Nadia Magnenat Thalmann is Professor and Director of the Institute for Media Innovation, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She is also the Founder and Director of the MIRALab, an interdisciplinary lab in Human Computer Animation, University of Geneva, Switzerland. Her research domains are Social Robots, mixed realities and medical simulation. In Singapore, she has developed the robot Nadine alike of herself that is able to speak, recognise people and gestures, express mood and emotions, and remember actions. All over her career, she has received several artistic and scientific Awards, among them the 2012 Humboldt Research Award and two Doctor Honoris Causa (from University of Hanover in Germany and from the University of Ottawa in Canada). She is Editor-in- Chief of the Journal The Visual Computer (Springer-Verlag) and is a Member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences.
JAKKRIS TANGKUAMPIEN
CORPORATE INNOVATION COACH,EKIPA CONSULTANCY
FORMER THAILAND LEAD INNOVATION PRACTITIONER,
PRUKSA HOLDING, ROCHE & EXXONMOBIL
Jakkris specializes in the Innovation Processes across the combined landscape of Business and Technology. He is experienced in working with multinational and local corporations including ExxonMobil, Roche, and Pruksa Holdings as well as StartUps through collaborations across multiple roles through innovation, including hackathons as organizer, mentor, judge, and advisor. He was also successful in creating and leading an internal “corporate startup team”, combining multiple innovation and agile frameworks, creating a new culture and mindset needed for the team to succeed.
After more than 15 years of corporate career, including Lead Innovation Practitioner at ExxonMobil, Roche, and Pruksa Holdings, he is currently a Corporate Innovation Coach with Ekipa Consultancy. Given his very diverse experience across multiple industries, as well as significant time living in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Thailand, Singapore, and the United States, he is a strong advocate for inclusive innovation where every role, culture, thoughts, and ideas matter.
JEFF HOU
ASSOCIATE DIRECTORKPMG IN TAIWAN
Jeff C.K. Hou is a professional with expertise in sociology, social work, and technology management. He specializes in ESG sustainable development, SDGs innovation, and social impact assessment. Since 2014, he has been a key member of KPMG's social impact and sustainable innovation services, leveraging business strategies to address environmental and social challenges. Jeff's work spans profit and non-profit sectors, guiding stakeholders including governments, businesses, and social enterprises. He has supported various industries—retail, technology, finance, energy, agriculture, education, and social welfare—in developing social impact and sustainable innovation strategies. He also assisted in the establishment of Taiwan's first public trust for impact investment in social enterprises (SERT) and holds several volunteer positions in NPOs, promoting social impact and sustainable innovation in Taiwan.