Three Australian innovators have been named winners of the Indian Ocean Defence & Security 2024 (IODS 2024) Innovation Awards worth $40,000. They were among 15 finalists who each delivered a 3-minute pitch at Indian Ocean Defence & Security 2024 conference. The panel of five judges, led by Michele Clement, Director of the Western Australian Defence Science Centre, listened to the pitches and added their marks to those previously awarded by a separate panel of seven judges who determined the finalists.
The winners are:
- Indian Ocean Defence & Security 2024 Innovation Award: Mr Robert Dane, Ocius Technology – Bluebottle Uncrewed Surface Vessel
- Indian Ocean Defence & Security 2024 Emerging Technology Award: Mr Brennen Mills, Edith Cowan University – paraverse
- Indian Ocean Defence & Security 2024 Young Innovator Award: Mr Ayden McCann, University of Western Australia – Rapid Daytime Deployment Capability of Teranet -3
- Indian Ocean Defence & Security 2024 Collaborative Innovation Award: Mr Brennen Mills and the team from Edith Cowan University – paraverse
Their success was announced and trophies presented on Friday 26 July at IODS 2024 by Hannah Beazley, Acting Minister for Training and Workforce Development representing the Minister for Innovation.
Clement said the judges were blown away by the innovative nature and the depth and breadth of the ideas presented. “We saw evidence of a really strong Australian innovation ecosystem that is taking ideas and turning them into a capability that would support our national security not only for defence, but also in the broader civil sense as well. I really liked that transferability of many of the finalist innovations.”
Each category winner received engraved glass trophies, designed and made by Wathaurong Glass Arts, an indigenously owned and managed cooperative in Geelong, Victoria, and a prize of $10,000. The prize money is supplied by the not-for-profit organisation, AMDA Foundation Limited, organiser of the Innovation Awards program which has been running since 2013 in conjunction with AMDA’s suite of defence and industry events.
AMDA Foundation CEO, Justin Giddings, said the calibre of the pitches at the event was particularly impressive. “Witnessing the finalists pitch today has truly highlighted the ingenuity of Australian innovation,” said Giddings. “By awarding a monetary prize to each of our award winners, we hope it will provide a practical financial contribution to help further these incredible ideas and their professional skills.”
The Innovation Awards were created by AMDA Foundation Limited and driven by its altruistic purpose: to promote the development of Australia’s industrial resources in the fields of aviation, aerospace, maritime, defence and security. They recognise and reward innovation by Australian individuals and organisations at the forefront of innovation in products, services and business processes in the maritime domain. They were presented for the first time at Avalon 2013. Since then, some $725,000-worth of Awards have been presented.
AMDA Foundation Limited is an Australian not-for-profit corporation established to promote the development of Australia’s industrial, manufacturing and information/communications technology resources in the fields of aviation, aerospace, maritime, defence and security.
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