Red carpet, celebrations, cheers and charity — TechPoint’s Mira Awards is called the Oscar awards of Indiana for tech. For the second year in a row, the Mira Awards were hosted virtually, but the excitement of the nominee sponsors, judges and participants were unbelievable. A group of 52 judges selected 16 award recipients in different categories from over 211 entries. Indiana has gained the reputation as the tech epicenter of the Midwest, and the event recognized the “Best of the Tech of Indiana” at the 22nd Mira Awards.
In my opinion, every nominee was a winner as being nominated for Mira Awards is an achievement in itself. Every award recipient and nominee has contributed to Indiana tech ecosystem in unique manner. They are innovators, educators, philanthropist, scientists, investors, volunteers and entrepreneurs. Many companies responded in remarkable ways to serve societal or customer needs during the pandemic, seize market opportunities or survive amidst pandemic-induced challenges. This year two special awards were added in the category of “Pandemic Pivot of the Year Awards.”
2021 TechPoint Mira Award winners and honorees:
- Pandemic Pivot of the Year (Small-Medium Businesses) — OneCause
- Pandemic Pivot of the Year (Institutions and Large Enterprises) — KAR Global
- Community Impact Award — Anushree Bag, executive director of Risk and Compliance, Indiana Office of Technology
- Rising Tech City Award — City of Bloomington
- Tech Education Award — CIO Matt Etchison, CDO Brad Watts and the Ivy Tech Community College ITS Team
- Tech Product of the Year — 3Oe Scientific – IGGY
- Service Partner of the Year — PIER Group
- Innovation of the Year — NearWave Imager
- Trailblazer Award — Justin Christian, CEO and founder, BCforward
- TechPoint Foundation for Youth Bridge Builder Award — Dr. Carlotta Berry, professor of electrical and computer engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
- Rising Entrepreneur Award — Yaw Aning, co-founder and CEO, Malomo
- Investor of the Year — IU Ventures
- Startup of the Year — Malomo
- Exceptional Employer Award — GadellNet Consulting Services
- Large Enterprise of the Year — Eli Lilly and Company
- Scale-up of the Year — Socio
Rupal Thanawala is managing director at Trident Systems, a leading business and technology consulting practice, and tech editor for Indianapolis Recorder. Contact her at rupalt@indyrecorder.com.
