Big Project Middle East (BPME) has announced the ME Digital Construction Awards (ME DCA). The new award event will complement the Digital Construction Summit (DCS) – formerly known as the ME BIM Summit – and will celebrate the projects, teams and individuals embracing innovation and technology in the regional built environment.
The inaugural event features 12 curated categories including: Excellence in Digital Planning and Design Implementation of the Year; Digital Construction Project of the Year; Big Project ME’s Technology Champion of the Year; Digital Construction Company of the Year (Contractor); Digital Construction Company of the Year (Consultant) and many more. Read about all the categories by clicking here.
Following the close of nominations and an exhaustive judging process, the winners in each category will be revealed at a gala dinner in Dubai on 25 October 2022. Click here to read the nomination guidelines, whereas nominations can be submitted by clicking here.
Discussing what prompted the launch of the ME DCA, Gavin Davids, Head of Editorial and Content at BPME explains, “As the regional construction industry becomes increasingly digitalised, the BPME editorial team felt it was time for a separate awards to celebrate the companies and organisations that are pioneering the sector’s digital future.”
“The emphasis of these awards will be firmly on company’s digital achievements and innovations, both on projects and across their operations, while the Big Project ME Awards and ME Consultants Awards will continue to focus on the overall performance and capabilities of construction-focused organisations.”
In terms of how the ME Digital Construction Awards will differ from the well-established BPME Awards and the Middle East Consultant Awards (MEC Awards) which are organised by BPME’s sister publication Middle East Consultant (MEC), Davids responds, “The emphasis of these awards will be firmly on companies’ digital achievements and innovations, both on projects and across their operations, while the Big Project ME Awards and ME Consultants Awards will continue to focus on the overall performance and capabilities of construction-focused organisations.”
Nominations for the ME DCA open from 19 July, 2022, with the deadline for submissions being 25 September 2022. There is no charge to submit nominations and companies that make the shortlist will be contacted by the BPME team to discuss attendance to the gala dinner in Dubai.
The Digital Construction Summit will take place in Dubai on 14 September at The Oberoi hotel. Attendance is free for construction professionals, click here to register.
“We invite all types of construction focused organisations to nominate for these awards – there are no restrictions or limitations for developers, contractors, consultants, subcontractors, or product suppliers. All that matters is your digital capabilities and performance. We also have specific categories applicable for Construction SMEs involved in offering digital services and solutions. This is an under-represented segment of the industry, and I hope that these awards will shine a spotlight on these firms, who are often the ones pushing the envelope when it comes to innovation in the construction industry,” Davids adds.
Asked about what companies should include in their respective nominations in order to stand the best chance of grabbing the judges’ attention, Davids points out, “While a more detailed guide will be supplied on the website, my personal suggestion to nominees is to provide testimonials from clients, and avoid turning their submissions into marketing brochures, and to really showcase how they applied technology to their projects and operations, and how their digitally enabled approach is paying dividends.”
Once nominations close, the BPME editorial team will convene with its panel of independent judges to shortlist the strongest nominations and, eventually, announce the winners across each of the categories.
“The Big Project ME team will be putting together an expert panel of judges from across the construction industry. These judges will be selected on the basis of their skills, knowledge and, most importantly, their impartiality. To ensure the integrity of the voting process, we will only be revealing the judges on the night of the awards,” Davids clarifies.
To read more about the ME Digital Construction Awards, click here.