Innovation is the key to progress and prosperity. It is propelled by technology leaders across the globe. Now twelve of these leaders are being honored with the World Technology Leader Award, which will be presented in China in November. The first winners have now been announced.
The
deeper you delve into it, the more exciting the field of technological
innovation becomes. For it is by no means always only the major
corporations and the great inventions that result in progress. Every
day, developers, engineers and creative minds work on creating a better
world and developing more convincing products, more sustainable
procedures and more efficient processes.
The
aim of the World Technology Leader Award (WTL) is to make this world of
progressive excellence visible in the various industries. The award
explicitly recognizes innovative excellence by companies of all
different sizes – from niche solutions to spectacular highlights, from
rocket technology to vacuum cleaners.
The dream of manned interstellar spaceflight
The host city of this year’s annual ceremony, which takes place in a different country every year, is Jinan. The metropolis with a population of 8 million is about an hour’s train ride from Beijing. Approximately 600 guests will be attending the event in the capital of the Chinese province Shandong on November 12, where the twelve award winners will be honored. And these range from rocket makers to vacuum cleaner manufacturers.
One
of the most fascinating winners of the year is SpaceX, the space
technology company owned by the founder of Tesla, Elon Musk. The
US-based company proves what entrepreneurial visions are capable of: the
dream of manned interstellar spaceflight has made the company one of
the leading providers of transport systems into space within only a few
years. The spaceship “Starship” and the rocket “Super Heavy” are at the
ready as the next generation of spacecraft. One day, they could be able
to transport human beings as well as cargo to Mars.
Technological competence at the interface of the digitized world
Another
example for innovation is the British appliance manufacturer Dyson.
Dyson’s products are able to continually set technological milestones
and, as a “game changer”, be a synonym for innovative products across
the globe.
This
year’s winners also include the Swedish mobile communications
corporation Ericsson. The company stands for technological competence at
the interface of the digitized world: mobile technology, internet and
multimedia communications and telecommunications. Based on its
beginnings as a pioneer of telephony in the 19th century, today Ericsson
supplies almost all leading network operators and service providers
with the kind of mobile and broadband solutions that enable the mobile
communication of our time.
120,000 Managers are in demand
The
three aforementioned companies are the first names that have been
revealed prior to the award ceremony. The twelve companies were chosen
by an international nomination committee made up of 32 international
managers, entrepreneurs and economic journalists. The international
business community, however, will have the final say: the winners of the
audience awards will be chosen by roughly 120,000 managers and
entrepreneurs around the world, who will make their choice in an online
voting procedure organized by the initiator of the award, the market
intelligence provider Diana Research in Singapore.
