(SCOTLAND)
Innovators Magazine is delighted to announce the launch of the Global Game Changers Awards in partnership with The Herald newspaper.
The inaugural awards will take place in Glasgow, one of Europe’s top innovation hotspots, in September. It will recognise the innovation economy’s importance in delivering a sustainable future for all. Judges will consider entrants success to date in making – or having the potential to make – a global impact within the context of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
One of the judges, Steve Kenzie, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Network UK, will speak at the event – on 13 September- about the role of innovators in achieving the SDGs.
Steve Kenzie
The evening will celebrate the key elements that underpin the innovation economy. The categories will relate to: women in innovation; intrapreneurship; social innovators; corporates doing good, startups working in the sharing economy, collaborative initiatives; STEM education; young pioneers; and the circular economy.
Law firm Bond Dickinson and City of Glasgow College are supporting the awards.
Speaking to The Herald, John Ralph, partner at Bond Dickinson, said: “We are delighted to be sponsoring the Collaboration For Change category at the Global Game Changers Awards.
“As a firm, we embrace innovation and constantly strive to maintain our exceptional levels of service by developing new ways of working with our clients. We were recently ranked in the top five firms for innovation in the Best Legal Adviser Report for 2016-17 and our current national campaign, Close Encounters: The Power Of Collaborative Innovation, reflects our interest in the way businesses find different ways of working together.”
While the principal and chief executive of the City of Glasgow College, Paul Little, said the College is “delighted to support the Global Game Changer Awards.”
Welcoming the news, Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council and City Convener for Inclusive Economic Growth, told Innovators Magazine: “Glasgow is a perfect choice for this event given our centuries-long tradition in innovation. From the steam engine to the fridge to thermodynamics and the ultrasound, the city has long been synonymous with new discovery and invention.
“We continue that work today, with two innovation districts in the city tied to the University of Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde conducting world leading research in the life sciences, stratified medicine, and quantum technology. These districts are committed to looking for the next breakthroughs and their work has the support of the City Government that I lead.
“We are delighted that Glasgow is to host these awards as the city continues to be a global game changer itself.”
Our partners at Knowledge4Innovation, who run the annual European Innovation Summit in Brussels, also praised the new awards platform.
Roland Strauss, Managing Director at Knowledge4Innovation, said: “This is an exciting addition to the innovation economy. It’s great to see our partners at Innovators Magazine collaborating with Newsquest International to host the first ‘Global Game Changers’ awards in Scotland. Collaboration is a vital element of the innovation process. The awards will recognise those pioneering companies and individuals that are working to build a sustainable future by contributing to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We look forward to providing input into this inaugural event. And with it being the 10th anniversary of the European Innovation Summit here in Brussels next year, who knows, we may well be welcoming the ‘Global Game Changers’ awards to the Belgian capital in 2018.”
