Software Engineering Excellence (1)

This award recognises an individual or team who has shown industry leadership in building and developing software. Achievements in software development completed in the Australian market during the 25/26 Financial Year will be assessed for this award.

Eligibility Criteria

Individual Nomination

The person eligible for this award must:

  • Identify as She/Her, She/They, or They/Them

  • Reside in Australia

  • Be in a software development role

  • Must be an active development contributor and have delivered software-based solutions

  • The technical achievements you are describing in your entry must have been completed in the Australian market during the 25/26 Financial Year

Team Nomination

  • Be based in Australia

  • Have a minimum of 50% of team members identifying as She/Her, She/They, or They/Them

  • Be actively working in software development and have collectively delivered software-based solutions

  • The technical achievements described must have been completed in the Australian market during the 25/26 Financial Year

Assessment Criteria

 What we are looking for in the entry:

  • Clear and concise communication of the nature of the problem and the solution the technology provided

  • Clear and concise communication of the technical achievements, specifics of the solution, options considered, complexity and technical quality

  • A complex technical challenge and innovative solution

  • Scalable and stable software design and codebase

  • Real-world application and impact of your software solution

  • Commitment to continuous professional development and an appetite for learning

  • Active involvement in the digital community

Tip: When responding to questions, please provide as many numerical measures as possible - quantifying your success will help contextualise your submission for the industry judges.

 

Nomination Questions
  1.  Full name(s) (first and last name of individual or key contact) 

  2. Role Title

  3. Organisation

  4. LinkedIn URL

  5. Bio (150 words)

  6. Share the organisation's elevator pitch (50 words)

  7. What is the purpose of your role or your team's function within the organisation, and how does it contribute to software development and overall business success? (100 words)

  8. Describe a software engineering project you or your team worked on during the 25/26 financial year. What was the business problem you aimed to solve, and what approach was taken to address it? (300 words)

  9. How was the project technically designed, and what specific technologies or tech stack did you use? Why were these technologies chosen? (300 words)

  10. What challenges did you or your team encounter while delivering this project, and how were they overcome? (300 words)

  11. Tell us about the project outcome and how it compares to the original goals. Include any commercial impact, metrics of success, or feedback that demonstrates its effectiveness. (300 words)

  12. If possible, please provide a link to your GitHub account (or a team repository) with access to the code discussed in this submission for our judges to review. (This is a nice-to-have but is not mandatory for your submission.)

  13. Please provide a link or testimonial that highlights your contributions to the tech industry or gender equity.

Nomination Fee 
 To continue growing and elevating the Women in Digital Awards, this year we have introduced a fee of $199 per award nomination. If you are a Women in Digital Member, you receive one free nomination as part of your membership benefits! To access this benefit, entrants must be a confirmed Women in Digital member at the time of submission. You can find your exclusive discount code in the Member Portal. Not a member? Join today!

Previous Winner
Annabel Zhou

 Annabel Zhou 

Co-founder, Software Engineer
Toastie & Google

Key Dates

Nominations Open
27 May 2026 at 09:00 AM
Nominations Close
19 Jul 2026 at 11:30 PM
Finalist Judging Day
13 Aug 2026 at 09:00 AM
Finalists Announced
2 Sep 2026 at 09:00 AM
Winners Announced
6 Nov 2026 at 05:30 PM
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