Women in AI finalists announced

The finalists of the WAI Awards for 2023 have been announced. In response to the exceptional standard of entries across the Asia–Pacific region, this year the awards finalists have been narrowed to just two finalists in each of the 18 categories. In addition, there are two finalists in the running for the WAI Trailblazer Award and two finalists for the inaugural Indigenous Leadership in AI Award.

This year’s awards return to Sydney on 16 June 2023 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The invitation-only event will commence with a separate Awards Ceremony in the Domain Theatre to recognise, reward and celebrate the achievements of women in AI across APAC — followed by an exceptional Gala Dinner in the gallery’s entrance court.

This year's finalists are:

WAI Trailblazer Award

• Maria Liuzzi | Australia
• Qinghua Lu | Australia
   

Indigenous Leadership in AI Award

• Angella Ndaka | New Zealand
• Andree Nenkam Mentho | Australia
   

AI in Health

• Faezeh Marzbanrad | Australia
• Fatemeh Vafaee | Australia
   

AI in Mining

• Malgorzata Sikora | Australia
• Lun-Wei Ku | Taiwan
   

AI in Law

• Arisa Ema | Japan
• Rita Matulionyte | Australia
   

AI in Finance

• Kendra Vant | Australia
• Maneet Singh | India
   

AI in Agribusiness and Rural Development

• Saba Samiei | New Zealand
• Mahla Nejati | New Zealand
   

AI in Cyber Security

• Rachael Greaves | Australia
• Olya Ohrimenko | Australia
   

AI in Education

• Wafa Johal | Australia
• Yi-Shan Tsai | Australia
   

AI in Defence and Intelligence

• Zena Assaad | Australia
• Sara Webb | Australia
   

AI in Infrastructure

• Riya Aggarwal | Australia
• Orla Glynn | Australia
   

AI in Manufacturing

• Kari Jones | New Zealand
• Mya Thandar | Japan
   

AI in Creative Industries

• Miriam Hochwald | Australia
• Shruti Nagpal | India
   

AI in Sport

• Elisa Koch | Australia
• Alice Sweeting | Australia
   

AI in Climate

• Sumudu Senanayake | Sri Lanka
• Kam Lin MAH | Malaysia
   

AI in Environment and Biodiversity

• Petra Kuhnert | Australia
• Xun Li | Australia
   

AI in Space

• Rizka Widyarini Purwanto | Indonesia
• Anais Möller | Australia
   

AI in Humanitarian Action

• Jessica Ford | Australia
• Armielyn Obinguar | Philippines
   

AI in Innovation

• Samantha Lengyel | Australia
• Yang Song | Australia
   

Communicating AI

• Cathy Robinson | Australia
• Parul Pandey | India
   

Each of this year’s 18 awards categories are judged on innovation, leadership and inspiration; their global potential and impact; and ability of their AI solution to provide positive outcomes for their community and citizens. After the winners of each category are announced, the inaugural Indigenous Leadership in AI Award, the WAI Trailblazer Award, two runners-up and the overall WAI Innovator of the year will be presented. Each winner will benefit from endorsement, prestige, recognition, opportunities for collaboration and extensive media exposure, while the top winners will share in a $50,000 prize pool and additional prizes.

Image credit: iStock.com/Ryzhi