Dr Jordan Nguyen takes out top prize

Dr Jordan Nguyen has been awarded ICT Professional of the Year at the third annual ACS Digital Disruptors Awards.

“You can’t do this without your team and without the amazing people around you,” Nguyen told the 600-strong crowd.

“My social business Psykinetic is full of six incredible people who are dedicated to what they do.”

The Digital Disruptors Awards, which were hosted by media personalities Sylvia Jeffreys and Ben Fordham at The Star last Thursday, recognise excellence in the ICT arena.

With a PhD, a successful social business and a rapidly-developing media career all to his name in his early thirties, Nguyen has chosen to follow his passion – inclusive technology that transforms the lives of people with disabilities.

From the thought-controlled smart wheelchair that he completed as part of his PhD studies, to his use of telekinetic technology to help a young man with severe cerebral palsy control technology around him using just his eyes, Dr Nguyen is at the cutting-edge of biomedical innovation.

Nguyen’s current focus is his start-up, Psykinetic, which aims to create futuristic assistive technology that puts “the mind into action”.

“When it comes to digital disruption there’s so much that we’ve got to take into account moving into the future, from automation, artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual reality, blockchain.

“There’s many different things, but it’s our duty to figure out what we need to do and how we’re going to shape this change, and to make sure it’s not just the technical people, but it’s the non-technical people too.

“We shape the change, we shape the future.”

The awards ceremony followed the Reimagination Thought Leaders' Summit, which hosted a range of industry experts to discuss the role of emerging technologies and our digital future.

Other winners included the Australian Taxation Office, GS1 Australia and Statewide Super.

Here is the full list of winners of the 2017 Digital Dirsuptors Awards:

Individual Awards

ICT Professional of the Year – Dr Jordan Nguyen

Young ICT Professional of the Year Male – Phillip Matheson

Young ICT Professional of the Year Female – Margaret Zou

ICT Student of the Year – Samaneh Movassaghi.

ICT Educator of the Year – Shanton Chang

ICT Researcher of the Year – Manoranjan Paul

Team/Project Awards

Service Transformation for the Digital Consumer: Corporate – Statewide Super

Service Transformation for the Digital Consumer: Not for profit – The Humanoid Robot Project

Service Transformation for the Digital Consumer: Government – MeDiCi and the University of Queensland