The Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) has announced that nominations are now open for the 2021 IITPSA President’s Awards, the prestigious annual accolades for the IT industry’s leading CIOs, personalities and organisations.
Admire Gwanzura, new President of the IITPSA, says: “The 2020 awards were themed Excellence in Adversity, recognising IT excellence during the challenging early days of the pandemic. This year, we accept that times have changed, and IT professionals play a pivotal role in helping business and society adapt to a digital ‘new normal’. Therefore, we have decided that the theme of the 2021 President’s Awards will be ‘Excellence in the New Normal’.”
The IITPSA President’s awards have recognised the South African IT industry’s leading lights for over 40 years.
Past winners include the likes of Dr Stanley Mpofu, CIO of the University of the Witwatersrand, and Nomthi Nelwamondo, CIO of Assupol, as joint Visionary CIO of the Year (2020), Ntuthuko Shezi as IT Personality of the Year (2020), GirlCode, winners of the Social Responsibility/Community Award (2020), Geekulcha COO Tiyani Nghonyama as the IT Personality of the Year and Alexander Forbes, former Group CIO Sandra La Bella as the Visionary CIO (2019), Etion CEO Teddy Daka and Absa CIO for Virtual Channels Jacques Barkhuizen (2018), Entelect CEO Shashi Hansjee and former Sasol Global CIO Alec Joannou (2017).
IITPSA is calling IT professionals to nominate candidates in the following award categories:
- The IT Personality Award, which 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/or who has made a major contribution to the IT profession over a number of years.
- The Visionary CIO Award, which honours a CIO who has demonstrated visionary leadership in using IT to support, grow and transform business and/or who has established best practice in implementing technology solutions in an organisation.
- The Technology Excellence Award, which will be presented to a person or team who has made exceptional or innovative use of technology for an organisation and/or who has exhibited technological excellence that has delivered measurable benefit for business/the SA Economy.
- The Social Responsibility/Community Award, which will be 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.
Nominees do not have to be members of the IITPSA. The closing date for nominations will be advised at a later date. The 2021 IITPSA Presidents awards will be presented during the first quarter of 2022.
To nominate deserving candidates, please go to: https://www.iitpsa.org.za/annual-presidents-awards/