Design AI and Tech Awards launch to inspire groundbreaking solutions in business and technology

The Business Times and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) have launched the inaugural Design AI and Tech Awards, a unique initiative to spotlight and encourage the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and design in addressing real-world business challenges.

This award programme is open to startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and large corporations, underscoring the versatility and relevance of AI and design across all scales and industries.

Through this recognition, the organisers aim to set a benchmark for continual innovation, inspiring a culture where technology and design go hand-in-hand to address pressing issues and redefine business solutions.

Categories

The awards are segmented into three distinct categories, each targeting a specific area of innovation:

Product Design:
This category celebrates technology-driven products that demonstrate cross-disciplinary innovation, spanning industries like electronics, energy, machinery, and transportation. 

The category is not limited to traditional product design but also recognises products that redefine boundaries, showcasing the potential of AI when combined with design thinking.

System Design:
Focused on large-scale, complex systems, this category acknowledges innovations that optimise performance through advanced technologies and an understanding of their socio-economic context.

Examples include systems in supply chains, logistics, financial services, healthcare, transportation, security, defence, and energy production. These systems are increasingly central to tackling global challenges, where the blending of technology with design thinking can reshape the way society manages its most intricate networks.

Spatial Design:
This category is dedicated to spaces that utilise emerging spatial technologies, such as urban analytics, generative architecture, and immersive environments.

Recognising innovation at multiple scales, from interiors and buildings to city-wide transformations, the Spatial Design category celebrates those who leverage AI and technology to create spaces that respond to and evolve with human needs.

Nominations and judging criteria 

Ms Chen Huifen, Editor of The Business Times, highlights the practical role of these awards in demystifying AI: “For a new technology like artificial intelligence to gain greater acceptance, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and individuals 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.”

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Adding to this, Professor Tai Lee Siang, Deputy President and Chief Innovation and Enterprise Officer of SUTD, expresses hope for Singapore’s future role as a leader in AI and design innovation. He notes, “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.”

Entries will be evaluated by a distinguished panel, chaired by Professor Tai and featuring Ms Chen Huifen, Ms Dawn Lim (DesignSingapore Council), Ms Farizan d’Avezac De Moran (GreenA Consultants Pte Ltd), Professor John Ochsendorf (MIT Morningside Academy for Design), and Mr Laurence Liew (AI Singapore). 

Nominations will be assessed across six criteria: design thinking process and strategies, originality, use of AI and advanced technologies, ethical consideration and circularity, aesthetic and functionality, and impact.

The awards are open for nominations until 31 December 2024, offering organisations worldwide a chance to showcase their cutting-edge solutions. 

As industries adapt to an increasingly digital and interconnected world, the Design AI and Tech Awards provide a platform to recognise and reward those who are leading the way in AI-driven innovation and design. Interested participants can find more information and submit nominations through the awards website.