Australia’s most creative app developers pitched their latest mobile applications (apps) at the nation’s biggest technology development competition – the OzAPP Awards – held in Perth this week.
In a tightly contested field of five finalists, the winning app of the Curtin University OzAPP initiative was SafetyCulture iAuditor, from Queensland; an app which features customised checklists to empower workers to conduct onsite inspections, identify hazards and share reports in real time.
The web-based analytics platform centrally manages and analyses data captured through SafetyCulture iAuditor to uncover insights that save time – and save lives.
Since 2010, the OzAPP Awards have helped mobile app developers make their innovative start-up ideas a reality, with the winners being awarded a mixture of cash and other resources to help build and launch their winning apps.
Previous winners have included the logistics dispatch service mobile app Swift (2015), which now operates in 15 countries; babysitting app Kindy (2014); and Ollo Mobile (2013), a connectivity app which allows seniors to stay in touch with family members while living independently.
This year’s awards were held as part of the week-long West Tech Fest, an annual event for Western Australia’s start-up and technology community which attracts technology leaders and investors from the United States, Europe, Asia and from around Australia.
Mr Rohan McDougall, Curtin’s IP Commercialisation Director and an OzAPP Award judge, congratulated the winners, adding the breadth and quality of this year’s entries demonstrated the continuing and innovative growth of the Australian and Asia Pacific technology sectors.
“The OzAPP Awards aim to foster dialogue and collaboration between innovators, researchers, investors and industry, while further stimulating innovative tech developments in WA and the Asia Pacific region. This year’s awards have been no exception,” Mr McDougall said.
“The Awards always draw interest from the world’s leading investors and entrepreneurs in the digital space and it is fantastic to see the extraordinary talents of app developers across Australia showcased here in Perth.”
Among the 20 shortlisted entry applications, whittled down from 120 entries, was storage app Storekat, which was developed by Curtin Accelerate program graduate, Kevin Forcier.
“Every year since this competition began, a Curtin staff member or student has been shortlisted in the top 20 entries, which demonstrates the University’s ongoing commitment to global innovation,” Mr McDougall said.
As part of their prize, the winning OzAPP team will head to Las Vegas in January to pitch their app at the Extreme Tech Challenge.
