Welcome
Airwards is back!
Airwards judges include global leaders, pre-eminent drone experts, industry specialists and (in some cases) former winners, curated to reflect the diverse range of innovation and incredible work being accomplished by the international drone industry.
We’re working hard to ensure that the Year 3 (23/24) judging process is as thought out and considered as possible, taking on board feedback from judges, partners, entrants and advisors.
These experts faithfully represent the present and future, the voice of the respective categories and an incredible array of talent from across the drone industry. They are committed to sharing positive use cases and cross-sector knowledge; inspiring different industries to collaborate and innovate; facilitating commercial opportunities; and educating the wider public on drones as safe solutions to real-world problems. As such, they have demonstrable expertise in the categories they review and, in order to be accepted as a judge, candidates must be eligible and verified amongst their peer groups.
“They are visionaries, evangelists and luminaries who have accomplished great achievements or demonstrated extraordinary talent in their field.”
Our Year 2 judges line-up included a diverse, inclusive group of the most celebrated thought leaders and experts from various countries around the world including: AUS, DNK, IND, IRL, MWI, MEX, NPL, SEN, ZAF, SWZ, UAE, GBR, USA, and ZMB. 🌎 🌍 🌏
Thank you to all those judges who were part of our inaugural year and to those joining us for our Year 3 (23/24). We look forward to working together to identify, recognise and champion positive drone use cases, advancing the drone industry, encouraging cross-industry collaboration and helping drive public acceptance.
If you’re interested in becoming an Airwards Judge, please review our criteria and eligibility and submit your application HERE for our Year 3 judging.
Judges
Our mission is to raise awareness of positive drone use cases and demonstrate how Life’s Better With Drones (see more here). Through this and the calibre and quality of our judging process we enable our judges to be part of the finest minds and thought leaders with visibility on the latest innovative use cases being championed.
Within our first 5 years, we’ve set ourselves the goal of having representation in our judging line-up across the following areas:
🗺️ At least one judge from each of the five continents (sorry Antarctica)
🧍♀️🧍♂️ A ratio of 50/50 (female/male) judges
✊ Clear representation of diversity across races
🏳️🌈 LGBTQ+ representation figures
🦾 At least 1 expert from each of our award categories
🤝 A compensation / payment policy
So if you’d like to join then register here or know a company who you think should enter then get them to register here. Everyone is welcome at Airwards as we recognise and champion positive drone use cases demonstrating how Life’s Better With Drones.
What is and who are Airwards? 🤔
Airwards has been created as the first global awards platform to recognise and champion positive use cases in the drone industry, across a multitude of sectors. We're aiming to do this by finding innovative, responsible and real-world projects that are having a positive impact in their field and on the lives of people around the world.
We celebrate diversity, evolution and education and aim to inspire a greater understanding of drones and UAS uses around the world. We champion responsible and safe drone use and advocate for use cases in which drones are used as a tool for positive work with tangible outcomes, as well as those that display what a drone for good is capable of across a multitude of different environments. By partnering with government bodies and trade associations, we hope to advance the drone industry and help achieve public acceptance.
Our credible network of industry-leading individuals will judge the awards and to win an Airward means your project and company represents the pinnacle of global drone innovation, responsible flying and impactful real-world solutions - and that you're a leader in changing human behaviour for good. Ultimately, our vision is a world in which drones are accepted by the wider public and play a vital role in solving real-world, everyday problems.
People
Disclosure / Transparency
One of the major aspects that makes Airwards unique, both as a centralised platform and recognition programme in the drone industry and beyond, is our transparency. This transparency includes disclosing key processes as well as our rigorous evaluation system implemented by experienced, world-renowned professionals. This means organisations know precisely what is required of entrants, what the judges will be judging against, how we work and more. 🔍
Our transparency pledge says that:
Airwards removes as much unconscious bias as possible from entries.
i.e. any mention of branding / companies. We do this to level the playing field amongst entries so judges are focused on the use case and so that judges evaluate and score based solely on the entry.All material will remain confidential to the judges alone.
We understand that conflicts of interest are a potential threat, and we take these conflicts very seriously. We do everything in our power to minimise occurrences of conflicts while ensuring that the best work is recognised.
Airwards does not influence the judges in any way. We select a diverse body of judges who we feel are objective, respected, knowledgeable in their category and have their own opinions. The entries who progress are entirely in the hands of these judges and the independent process Airwards runs.
In specific relation to entrants, we are also refraining from charging submission fees for the first three years of Airwards. We hope this encourages all types of drone companies to enter. Anyone can however help support the work of Airwards by donating and/or making a voluntary contribution. This is vital to keep Airwards running and fulfil our mission in raising awareness of positive drone use cases and demonstrating how Life’s Better With Drones.
Key Diary Dates 📅
This is a snapshot summary of the key dates which judges should be aware of.
All times are in the London time zone (GMT/BST).
Submissions Open
Round 1 - Qualifying
Round 2 - Shortlist
Round 3 - Winner
Airwards Winners’ Week
