Eligibility
Who can apply.
An individual within the first five years of their technology career, or a student who has made a technical contribution. Teams may be named, but the entry is for the individual.
- Employment, research, open-source work, a substantial student project or a venture role can count toward the five years.
- The entry should say when the relevant career or study began.
Achievement recognised
What the entry must show.
This category recognises people in the first five years of a technology career, including student contributors. There is no age limit. The work is read in the context of that stage, without lowering the need for evidence.
Evidence required
- The work and the applicant’s own part in it.
- How it was reviewed, tested, deployed or assessed.
- What resulted, at a scale appropriate to the stage of the career.
- Do not include employer secrets, confidential third-party material, or personal data about other people.
Assessment criteria
How the entry is read.
These are the published criteria for this category. They are not a claim that an independent judging panel is already appointed.
Quality of the work at this stage30%
Technical care relative to the opportunity the applicant had, not relative to a long-established team.
Originality and problem-solving25%
A visible technical choice, investigation or improvement made by the applicant.
Demonstrated contribution25%
A result that can be pointed to: a shipped change, a tested prototype, a research finding or a maintained piece of work.
Evidence and clarity20%
A straightforward account of what the applicant did, with support that does not depend on a senior colleague’s reputation alone.
Process and fee
From application to a decision.
01Application
Submit the application for this category on this website, naming the work and your own contribution. Submitting the form does not charge the applicant. Fee-payment instructions will follow before evaluation begins.
02Evidence review
The submission is checked for whether the evidence can be considered. Incomplete, confidential or unsupported claims may need further material, or may be set aside.
03Evaluation
The entry is read against the published criteria and weights for its category. That reading is what the US$200 evaluation fee covers, when collection is open.
04Decision
An award is made only when the standard is met. A category may have one recipient, more than one, or none. A decision that no award is made is a completed assessment.
Entry evaluation fee: US$200 per entry, per category.
The US$200 evaluation fee covers the administration and assessment of your entry. Payment does not guarantee shortlisting or an award. Entries may be unsuccessful following assessment.
The evaluation fee is not refundable solely because an entry is unsuccessful, subject to applicable law and the published cancellation and refund terms.
Each category is a separate assessed entry. Entering more than one category requires its own application and its own US$200 evaluation fee.
SASACO membership is a separate programme. Membership does not influence award scores, shortlisting or selection, and it does not guarantee recognition.
The detailed cancellation and refund terms are not published yet, so live charges stay off. A successful payment, when collection is enabled, means the entry is paid for assessment. It does not grant an award.
Integrity
- Submit truthful information, and only work you have authority to submit.
- Disclose any relevant conflict, including a close connection with SASACO.
- Confidential or unsupported claims may need further evidence before they can be considered.
- A category may have no recipient if the published standard is not met.
- This is a SASACO-administered recognition programme. It does not confer professional accreditation, employment, funding, immigration outcomes or indexed publication.