CONNECT Announces Opening of 29th Annual Most Innovative New Product (MIP) Awards

Innovative companies encouraged to submit in the thirteen competition categories from May 1 through September 1

CONNECT, a premier innovation company accelerator in San Diego that creates and scales great companies in the technology and life sciences sectors, announced today that nominations will open for the annual Most Innovative New Product (MIP) Awards on May 1. The MIP Awards is a CONNECT signature event, held annually in December, honoring the celebrities of innovation along with groundbreaking new products launched within the past year.

“In the past few years we’ve seen a proliferation of new types of products and new sectors under development in San Diego’s thriving innovation community,” said Greg McKee, CEO of CONNECT. “To reflect this growth, we’ve expanded our categories of innovation awards and the criteria for this year’s Most Innovative New Product Awards to ensure that we are showcasing the broadest spectrum of cutting-edge new products in life sciences and technology. Expanding MIP in this manner further serves our mission by providing an excellent competition and visibility for the companies and products who enter MIP.”

Both the categories and the judging criteria have been updated for the 2016 Most Innovative New Product Awards this year. Nominations will be accepted in the following thirteen categories: Bluetech; Cleantech, Sustainability, & Energy; Cyber Security; Defense, Aerospace, & Transportation; Information Communication Technologies; Life Science Diagnostics & Research Tools; Life Science Products – Clinical Stage; Medical Devices; Mobile Apps http://adl-usa.com/; Pharmaceutical Drugs & Biologic Therapies; Robotics & Unmanned Vehicles; Software & Digital Media; and Sport & Active Life Style Technologies. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony dinner on December 1, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine.

The new eligibility requirements are as follows:
– The product must have been first introduced after January 1, 2014 and never before selected as an MIP Award finalist.
– The product must have generated revenue from sales (exception for free mobile apps and companies submitting for the Life Science Products – Clinical Stage category).
– If selected as a Semi-Finalist, a senior company representative must attend and present at the Final Judging Panel (October 2016 TBA).
– If selected as a Finalist, a senior company representative must attend the awards dinner on December 1, 2016.

For more information or to submit a nomination online, please visit the CONNECT event page for MIP Submissions after May 1.

ABOUT CONNECT
CONNECT is a premier innovation company accelerator in San Diego that creates and scales great companies in the technology and life sciences sectors. By creating an environment in which entrepreneurs and C-suite executives have access to the people, capital, and technology resources they need for success, CONNECT has assisted in the formation and development of more than 3,000 companies since 1985. Widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful organizations linking entrepreneurs and C-suite executives with the resources they need for the commercialization of innovative products and services; our program has been modeled in more than 50 regions around the world.

###