The second in a row AWITA 2018 awards ceremony – The Women in IT Award, organized by the Azerbaijan Women’s ICT Club FEMMES DIGITALES and dedicated to the most successful women working in the ICT field of Azerbaijan, was held with the support of BakuTel at the Marriott Absheron Baku Hotel on December 5th 2018.
This year, the awards ceremony was held jointly with the traditional reception on the occasion of the official opening of the Azerbaijan International Telecommunications, Innovations and High Technologies Exhibition and Conference, BakuTel 2018. The AWITA 2018 ceremony was held by famous Azerbaijani hosts: Mr. Jeyhun Ali and Ms. Vusala Alizade. AWITA 2018 brought together more than 500 professionals and guests, including Mr. Ramin Guluzade – Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies; Mr. Kestutis Jankauskas – Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Azerbaijan; Mr. Igbal Babayev – Vice-Chairman of the State Customs Committee; Ms. Maia Tasa – charge d’Affairs of Estonian Embassy in Azerbaijan; Mr. Fariz Ismailzade – Vice Rector of ADA University; Mr. Vusal Gasimly – Executive Director of the Center for Economic Reforms Analysis and Communications as well as foreign ambassadors, international delegations and representatives of IT industry in Azerbaijan. Along with Bakutel, Pasha Bank, B.EST Solutions, MONT Azerbaijan, Neuron Technologies, Rabita Bank, Bakinity, Lilac, R.I.S.K, Sinam, Ultra, Cybernet, Azer Agrar, Tovuz-Baltiya, Microsoft Azerbaijan, STEP IT Academy, Synergy Partnership were partners and sponsors of AWITA 2018.
More than 100 applications have been submitted to the competition. The 25 jury members, consisting of the country’s IT industry representatives, leading media, government agencies, and universities identified the winners in the following 11 nominations:
- Innovator of the Year – Shabnam Mammedova (Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture on Innovations)
- Digital leader in the public sector institution – Leyla Mammedova (CEO at Azintelecom)
- Judges choice – Sahiba Hasanova (Expert in Satellite frequency coordination at Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan (MTCHT))
- Founder, CEO or CIO of the Year – Naina Mehdiyeva (CEO at GoldenPay)
- Industry Nomination 2018: Women in AGTECH – Jala Amirbayova (Individual Entrepreneur, Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijan Fruit-Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association)
- Employer of the year – B.EST Solutions (Operator of “Asan İmza” enhanced e- signature)
- Rural and remote contribution in IT – Bahar Abdullayeva (Teacher of the 1st secondary school named after I. Hasanov in the Ismailly region)
- Innovative teacher of the year – Aliya Akhmedova (Physics-Informatics teacher at 1st middle school named after I. Qayibov in Sumqayit city)
- Startup of the Year – Elnara Mammedzade (Founder and Managing Partner of Dataforest)
- Developer of the year – Laman Gadirli (Teacher at Step IT Academy)
- IT community, IT education program or project – Barama Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center
Within the framework of AWITA competition, each year an award is given for contribution to the development and support of activities of FEMMES DIGITALES-the Azerbaijan Women’s Club in the ICT field. This year FEMMES DIGITALES awards were presented to: The Ministry of Education, ASAN Xidmet, The Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies, ADA University and STEP IT Academy.
AWITA 2018 awards ceremony is the largest event aimed at popularizing the IT industry among girls and demonstrating the achievements of women in the ICT field in Azerbaijan. It is important to mention that FEMMES DIGITALES club was created to unite women working in the public and private sectors of ICT industry and for enhancing their education and career opportunities in this field. The Club celebrates its 4th anniversary this year.
