Since 1998, there has been a local competition that has provided the innovators of the local ICT industry, with the opportunity to gain international recognition. This competition is the National Best Quality ICT Awards or NBQSA for short.
The primary objectives of NBQSA are: to provide recognition for innovators in the ICT industry in Sri Lanka, create a window for international recognition for locally developed ICT products and to improve the standards of our local ICT products.
Recently, at a press conference that was held in Colombo marking the 15th anniversary of the NBQSA, Mr. Vajeendra S. Kandegamage, chairman of the NBQSA stated; that this year there have been over 150 applications.
The NBQSA is annually organized by the BCS The Chartered Institute for IT Sri Lanka Section (BCSSL), with the main sponsor being the BCS Chartered Institute for IT in the UK. Some other sponsors this year include: IFS and HNB as silver sponsors, and 3M along with Fentons as bronze sponsors.
ICTA is also a sponsor of the NBQSA, as the gold sponsors this year and national partner since 2009. Speaking at the press conference, ICTA CEO Mr. Reshan Dewapura said “Year in year out, NBQSA has recognised the cream of the local software industry, and the greatest of the local software products, and felicitated them. This kind of recognition has motivated the industry as well as individuals to continue to innovate and bring-out exceptional products that keep Sri Lanka in the forefront of the ICT sphere.”
In addition to these sponsors, there are some special award sponsors, they are: WSO2 for Open Source Category, Domain LK Registry for Best Application with Local Content and SLASSCOM for the prestigious ICT Entrepreneurship award.
This year’s contest will have 21 categories that applicants can apply in, from Tools and Application Infrastructure, to Media and Entertainment. Within these categories there are some special awards, they are:
- ICT lifetime achiever award – which is awarded to applicants who have provided and invaluable service to the development of the local ICT industry over a long period of time. This award is jointly issued by the BCS Sri Lanka section and ICTA.
- ICT entrepreneurship award – which is awarded to entrepreneurs for venturing into the ICT industry. This award is issued jointly by the BCS Sri Lanka section and SLASSCOM.
- Public Sector ICT achievement award – which is awarded to public sector organizations that have improved their services with the adoption of Information Communications Technologies over the last few years. This award is issued jointly by the BCS Sri Lanka Section and ICTA.
In addition to these categories, the BCS Sri Lanka section has decided to honour the best products developed using Open Source products as a special award.
Furthermore, there is a Tertiary Category open for students from universities, which will be awarded to 2 students that showcase exceptional achievements in Technology Usage and Business potential.
Now what do winners get besides the fame and recognition you ask? Well they automatically become eligible to represent Sri Lanka, at the Asia Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA), which is an International Awards Program, aimed at increasing ICT awareness among communities and bridging the Digital Divide, which will be held this November in Hong Kong.
As for the part on when the NBQSA winners will be announced, well that’s going to be on October 17th at the NBQSA Awards Presentation. So stay tuned folks as we bring you the news as it unfolds from NBQSA 2013!
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