Awards & Recognition
Morse Micro was awaderd Best Wi-Fi Startup and Best Wi-Fi IoT Product at 2022 Wi-Fi NOW Awards for a record third consecutive year.
Morse Micro won IoT Evolution Industrial IoT Product of the Year Award 2022
Forcite won Product Design in Automotive and Transport at the 2022 Good Design Australia awards
The Awards are one of the longest-running international design awards, attracting new and innovative design projects from around the world, and celebrating the very best in all areas of design
Wildlife Drones in collaboration with NGO Save Vietnam’s Wildlife won the 2022 Conservation and Environmental Airwards
Airwards is a panoptic NFP global awards programme dedicated to identifying, recognising and championing the breadth of positive drone use cases from around the world
Perkii: 46th in AFR Fast 100 fastest growing Australian companies in 2021, 18th in the Smart Company Top 50 2021 and 175th in Financial Times Asia Top 500 growth companies 2022
2021 Governor of Victoria Startup Awards – “Best Newcomer”- Currus Biologics
The Governor of Victoria Startup Awards celebrate the outstanding contribution of Victoria’s $10.5 billion startup sector and recognise entrepreneurs, leaders and investors across the ecosystem
Kinoxis inventor Associate Professor Michael Bowen awarded the Prime Minister’s Prize for New Innovators 2021
Australia’s most prestigious awards for outstanding achievements in scientific research and research-based innovation and excellence in science teaching.
Morse Micro Embedded Computing Design’s Best in Show 2021
Embedded Computing Design announced 12 winners, across six categories, of the 2021 Best in Show at the embedded world trade show, including Morse Micro’s smallest, fastest and lowest power Wi-Fi HaLow system-on-chip.
BT Imaging Founder Thorsten Trupke 2021 William R Cherry Award
This prestigious award is named in honour of William R. Cherry, a founder of the photovoltaic community. The purpose of the award is to recognize an individual engineer or scientist who devoted a part of their professional life to the advancement of the science and technology of photovoltaic energy conversion.
Morse Micro Winner Consumer Tech Association’s CES 2021 Innovation Award
The CES Innovation Awards is an annual competition honouring outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products.
Morse Micro named in Silicon 100 list of top start-ups of 2000 and 2021 by Electronic Engineering Times
Morse Micro are the only Australian-based company named that are reinventing wi-fi for the IoT.
Morse Micro named in Silicon 100 list of top start-ups of 2000 and 2021 by Electronic Engineering Times
Morse Micro are the only Australian-based company named that are reinventing wi-fi for the IoT.
Professor Maree Smith from the University of Queensland (QRxPharma and Spinifex inventor) was named a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2019
Emeritus Professor Maree Smith, a pain drug pioneer, and UQ School of Pharmacy alumnus and academic received the highest national recognition for her work, named a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).
BT Imaging Founders Thorsten Trupke and Robert Bardos – 2019 Clunies Ross Innovation Award
The Clunies Ross Awards have been offered since 1991, recognising people who have shared their vision and knowledge to apply technology for the benefit of Australia. The development and commercialisation of BT Imaging photoluminescence imaging by Professor Thorsten Trupke and Adjunct Associate Professor Robert Bardos is a significant milestone for the photovoltaics research community and the solar cell/module manufacturing industry, both in Australia and globally.
Wildlife Drones – Finalist – Technology of the Year 2019 – Global University Venturing Awards
Wildlife Drones was named as one of the 5 finalists in 2019 for technology of the year.
Smart Sparrow – Winner – NYU Social Entrepreneurship Program Algorithm for Change Competition 2018
A group from the NYU Social Entrepreneurship Program concluded deliberations for their Algorithm for Change competition. With three tiers of prizes totalling $1 million along with mentoring and coaching from leading experts, four winners were selected. Smart Sparrow took home the top prize.
Exonate – ‘One to Watch’ in the Best Investment in Life Sciences 2017
Exonate Limited were awarded the ‘One to Watch’ at the UK Business Angels Association Investment Awards, the judges said: ‘Exonate is showing promise in developing revolutionary approaches to treatments for eye conditions, and has been backed by investors with deep industry knowledge.’
Smart Sparrow – BHERT Award for Outstanding Collaboration in Higher Education and Training 2017
Smart Sparrow was awarded the 2017 BHERT award for its outstanding Collaboration in Higher Education & Training. BHERT initiated a series of Awards to reinforce the importance of business-university partnerships in innovation, R&D and teaching and recognise outstanding achievement.
PERKii – LION’s Food and Beverage Accelerator 2017
PERKii was elected as one of a cohort of ten, from over 300 businesses for the LION’s Food and Beverage Accelerator.
Smart Sparrow – Excellence in Technology Awards 2016
Smart Sparrow has been recognised for Advancements in Content Authoring Technology and was named a gold medal winner for Best Advance in Content Authoring Technology in the Brandon Hall Group’s 2016 Excellence in Technology Awards.
Smart Sparrow – LearnX Impact Awards 2016
Smart Sparrow received recognition for Best eLearning Design, Best eLearning Model, and Best Learning Services. The three awards recognize Smart Sparrow’s Learning Design Studio for its forward-thinking approach, high standards and best practices in designing innovative elearning solutions for both educators and learners.
Hatchtech – Best Early Stage VC Deal 2016
Hatchtech Pty Ltd, a University of Melbourne spin out, is developing a next generation headlice treatment. In 2015, Hatchtech was acquired by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories for a deal worth US$197M, winning the AVCAL’s “Best Early Stage Deal of 2016”.
Smart Sparrow – 2016 Tech Pioneers Top 50
H2 Ventures & Investec have named Smart Sparrow in the inaugural Tech Pioneers 50 list at number 33. The list show cases the most exciting and pioneering startups from Australia and New Zealand.
Spinifex – J&J Company of the Year 2015
Spinifex Pharmaceuticals was named “Company of the Year” at the Johnson & Johnson Innovation 2015 Industry Excellence Awards announced at the opening of AusBiotech 2015 national conference on 8th October 2015. The awards recognise the leading lights of Australia’s world-class biotech, medical technology and healthcare sectors. Professor Maree Smith, inventor of the Spinifex technology and Executive Director, Centre for Integrated Preclinical Drug Development (CIPDD)/TetraQ, University of Queensland was awarded the 2015 J&J AusBiotech Industry Leadership Award, the 2015 Australian Pain Society Distinguished Members Award and was the inaugural inductee in the Life Sciences Queensland Hall of Fame.
Spinifex – Best Early Stage Venture Deal 2015
In September 2015, University of Queensland spin-out Spinifex Pharmaceuticals Inc. was awarded the Australian Venture Capital Association (AVCAL) Best Early Stage Deal of the Year. Earlier that year, Spinifex reached an agreement with Novartis under which Novartis purchased Spinifex for an upfront payment of US$200 million and certain contingent payments of up to US$500 million based on the achievement of development and regulatory milestones.
Smart Sparrow – Chartered Accountants ANZ Learn Impact Award 2015
In 2015, Smart Sparrow was awarded Silver in the Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand Learn Impact Awards.
Fibrotech – Best Early Stage Venture Deal 2014
On 4th September 2014, University of Melbourne spin-out Fibrotech Therapeutics Pty Ltd was awarded the Australian Venture Capital Association (AVCAL) Best Early Stage Deal of the Year. In May 2014, Fibrotech reached an agreement with Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, under which Shire purchased Fibrotech for an upfront payment of US$75 million and certain contingent payments based on the achievement of development and regulatory milestones.
Smart Sparrow – IMS Global Learning Impact Award 2013
The IMS Global Learning Consortium announced on 17 May 2013 the results of the worldwide annual competition at Learning Impact 2013. Fourteen finalists recently exhibited at the conference and were evaluated by an independent expert panel and Learning Impact conference attendees who judged the finalists on their high impact use of technology to support and enhance teaching and learning. Smart Sparrow and the University of NSW jointly received a Silver Award.
Hydrexia – Asia Pacific Company of the Year 2013
In November 2013, Hydrexia was named the Asia Pacific Company of the Year 2013 at the Cleantech Group’s Global Cleantech 100 Awards. Hydrexia is developing new devices for storing and transporting hydrogen gas which are safer and cheaper than current compressed gas solutions.
Hydrexia – Queensland’s Engineering Excellence Award 2012
In September 2012, UQ-spin-out Hydrexia Pty Ltd won a High Commendation in the Research and Development category at the Engineers Australia Queensland Engineering Excellence Awards. Hydrexia’s award was based on the design, build and test of Hydrexia’s prototype hydrogen gas storage device built in 2010.
Smart Sparrow – Best in Class at Tech23 2012
UNSW spin-out Smart Sparrow Pty Ltd was awarded the NSW Government’s High Growth Catalyst Award ($20,000) at the fourth annual Tech23 conference held in Sydney during October 2012. The event, organised by Slattery IT, brings together 23 hand-selected, high-potential Aussie tech companies. The crowd of 400 strong brought together the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs, corporates, investors and government representatives.
Throughout the day, each Tech23 company pitched to the crowd and a panel of judges, with leading companies awarded prizes based on their merit and potential.This award recognises Smart Sparrow’s ability to revolutionise education with its adaptive eLearning Platform – empowering teachers to create powerful learning experiences which intelligently adapt to students. Following five years of research in Intelligent Tutoring Systems, Educational Data Mining and Cognitive Psychology, Smart Sparrow has spun out of the lab and is now used by tens of thousands of students in major international universities each year. Uniseed invested in Smart Sparrow in 2011 alongside One Ventures.
TenasiTech – Brisbane Innovation Scorecard 2012
UQ spin-out TenasiTech Pty Ltd was recognised as one of Brisbane’s leading innovators in the “Brisbane Innovation Scorecard 2012”. The scorecard is an annual audit of innovative activity in the City, and a number of companies of particular interest are highlighted as part of this process – TenasiTech being a case study in this latest publication. The Scorecard is a collaboration between Deloitte, The University of Queensland Business School, Brisbane City Council, Queensland Government Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts (SITIA), Regional Development Australia Brisbane and Enterprise Connect.
Spinifex – Emerging Company of the Year 2012
BioSpectrum Asia, the leading publication on Life Sciences in Asia-Pacific published from Singapore, chose University of Queenalnd spin-out Spinifex Pharmaceuticals for the 4th BioSpectrum Asia-Pacific Emerging Company of the Year Award 2012. The company was chosen for its innovative work on EMA-401, a potential first-in-class oral treatment for neuropathic pain and related symptoms without central nervous system side effects. This award follows EMA-401 being named one of the five most promising drugs in Phase 2 trials by Thomson Reuters in 2011.
EMA-401 is being developed for the treatment of neuropathic (nerve) pain. Spinifex has previously completed a number of Phase I clinical trials with no significant safety issue reported. In 2012, a phase 2 study in neuropathic pain (post herpetic neuralgia) was successfully completed with a very positive result achieved. The trial hit its primary endpoint of a statistically significant change in pain from baseline to the last week of treatment, when comparing the EMA401 and placebo groups. The trial also hit its two secondary endpoints which looked at onset and maintenance of effect (statistically significant in the 3rd week of treatment) and the number of patients achieving 30% pain reduction. The Adverse Event profile looks very good as well with the drug being well tolerated in patients.
QRxPharma – New Product Innovation of the Year 2010
QRxPharma Limited (ASX: QRX) was awarded the 2010 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for New Product Innovation of the Year for its lead compound MoxDuo-IR. Frost and Sullivan is a global research and market analysis firm, and this award was the culmination of their comprehensive analysis of the opioid pain management market.
Vintela – Best Early Stage Deal 2005
Wedgetail Communications Pty Ltd, a company developing security software for enterprise systems, was formed in 2000 as a spin-out from Cooperative Research Centre – Distributed Systems Technology Centre (CRC-DSTC) at the University of Queensland in in Brisbane. In 2004, Wedgetail merged with Vintela Inc., a U.S.-based security company. Vintela’s technology enabled a single log-on for organisations that have a mixture of Windows, Unix and Linux resources. Maintaining user authentication across disparate platforms can be difficult both for the administrator and the user, who might have to remember different user names and passwords before they get to an application. So the idea of providing a seamless, common logon to Windows, Unix and Linux systems was appealing.
In 2005, Vintela was acquired by Quest Software, a NASDAQ-listed global company, for approximately $100 million, providing a positive return to Uniseed shareholders. The deal was highly regarded in the venture community, winning the Australian Venture Capital Association’s “Best Early Stage Deal of 2005”. Quest was sold to Dell in 2012 for $2.4bn.
Fultech – Most Outstanding Research Commercialisation Opportunity 2003
Fultech Pty Ltd, a spin-out of the University of Queensland (UQ) founded in 2001, secured its initial investment from Uniseed. Fultech’s Transient Blocking Unit was developed by UQ PhD student Richard Harris, under the supervision of Professor Mat Darveniza and Dr Ron Barham. The company was awarded the Most Outstanding Australian Research Commercialisation Opportunity in the ICT/Mathematics Field and in the Postgraduate Research Project category at the Commercialisation Forum and Fair of Ideas held by Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia in 2003.