Frequently Asked Questions
Clear answers about taking part, key dates, judging, fees and the gala in Dubai — grouped so you can jump straight to what matters to you.
✓ Free to nominate · No nomination fee · No registration fee
Who Can Participate
Eligibility for technology companies, startups, teams and individual leaders — who can enter and how.
The programme is open to any organisation or individual working in technology. That includes established companies, scale-ups, bootstrapped and venture-backed startups, SaaS and software firms, AI and machine-learning teams, cloud and infrastructure providers, cybersecurity vendors, IT-services and consulting businesses, plus the founders, CEOs, CTOs and engineering teams behind them. If your work falls within one of our categories and is genuinely your own, you are welcome to enter.
No. There is no minimum revenue, headcount or funding requirement. A two-person startup and a global enterprise can both enter the same programme. Judges assess impact relative to the resources available, so a small team is never measured against a large corporation on raw scale alone — what matters is the quality and outcome of the work.
Yes. Alongside company and product awards, there are individual leadership categories for founders, CEOs, CTOs, and standout technical teams. You can put forward a person on the strength of their leadership, vision and measurable contribution to their organisation or the wider industry.
Eligibility spans the full technology landscape: SaaS and software, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud computing, cybersecurity, fintech, healthtech, blockchain and Web3, IoT, IT services and more. You can browse the full set on the award categories and technology sectors pages and pick the one that fits your work most closely.
Both are fine. Most entries are self-nominations submitted by the company itself or its marketing, founder or leadership team. You may also nominate another organisation or individual as a third party — for example a partner, client or colleague — provided you can supply accurate information and they are willing to take part.
The awards are fully global and accept entries from organisations on every continent. There are dedicated regional tracks — including Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, South America, Africa and Oceania — so that companies compete in a relevant context. The annual gala is hosted in Dubai as a neutral international meeting point.
Yes, and many entrants do. A single company might enter a sector award such as cloud computing or cybersecurity, a flagship cross-industry honour, and an individual leadership award for its CTO. Each category is judged separately, so several well-targeted entries can increase your chances of recognition.
There is no fixed cap. You are welcome to enter every category where you have a genuine, relevant story to tell. We do encourage quality over quantity — a focused entry backed by strong evidence performs far better than a generic one stretched across many categories.
Yes. Judging looks at impact in context rather than absolute scale, and there are dedicated tracks for emerging companies and startups. This means an early-stage team is assessed on the strength and outcome of its work, not penalised for being smaller than an enterprise entrant.
Yes. Technology agencies, consultancies, non-profits, research institutions and public-sector or government technology teams are all eligible, as long as the work entered is genuinely theirs and fits the chosen category. Impact on users, citizens or the wider sector is just as valid as commercial results.
Entries should focus on achievements, launches and results delivered within roughly the last 18 months, so judges are evaluating current, relevant work. You can reference earlier context where it helps tell the story, but the core evidence — metrics, milestones and customer outcomes — should be recent.
No. Your headquarters can be anywhere in the world. Location only determines which regional or country track is most relevant to you; it never affects eligibility. The gala is held in Dubai, but you do not need any presence there to enter or to win.
Have your company details ready along with a short written description of the work, the results it delivered, and any supporting evidence such as metrics, customer outcomes, links or case studies. Most entrants complete a category in 30 to 60 minutes, and you can save your progress and return at any time. Begin at the nomination portal when you are ready.
Schedule
The key 2027 dates, deadlines and time zones — from nominations opening to the April 2027 gala.
Nominations for the 2027 programme open on 10 October 2026. From that point the entry portal stays open in rolling waves through the season, so you can submit as soon as you are ready rather than waiting for a single fixed date.
The early entry window runs until 15 December 2026. Entering during this period gives judges more time with your submission and lets you lock in your place early in the cycle. Because seats and category slots are handled on a first-come, first-served basis, earlier is generally better.
Nominations close on 30 January 2027. After that date the entry portal stops accepting new submissions for the 2027 season, so make sure your entry is completed and submitted before the close.
Once entries close on 30 January 2027, the Jury team or the Management of Golden Tree reviews entries from 1 February to 15 March 2027. Submissions are scored against the published criteria, and the strongest entries progress to the shortlist stage. You can read more on the judging process page.
Winners are confirmed internally on 20 March 2027, after jury / management review concludes. Finalists are notified by email and published online. Reaching the shortlist is itself a strong endorsement that you are welcome to promote.
The season culminates in the gala ceremony on 14 November 2026 at Westin Marina Hotel, Dubai, UAE, where the category winners are revealed live on the night.
Category slots, judging bandwidth and gala seating are all finite. Entering earlier means your submission is logged sooner, gives the jury more time to consider it, and protects your place before popular categories and the room fill up. It does not change how your entry is scored, but it does remove last-minute pressure.
All published deadlines are set to Gulf Standard Time (GST, UTC+4), the time zone of our Dubai base. We recommend submitting at least a day ahead of any cut-off so that differences between your local time and GST never put your entry at risk.
Yes. Your progress in the nomination portal is saved as you go, so you can begin an entry, gather more evidence, and return to complete it before the 15 September close. There is no need to finish everything in a single sitting.
Entering early is generally recommended. It secures your place during the early window, gives judges maximum time with your submission, and avoids any risk of technical or scheduling issues near the deadline. The quality of your entry, not its timing, determines the result — but early entrants give themselves the smoothest experience.
Yes. You will receive confirmation when your nomination is submitted, and winners are notified by email during the internal winner announcement on 20 March 2027. Winners are revealed live at the gala on 15 May 2027 to preserve the occasion.
Minor corrections can usually be accommodated before the 15 September deadline — contact the awards team and they will help where possible. Once judging begins in late September, entries are locked so that every submission is reviewed on an equal footing.
The dates to remember for the 2027 season are: nominations open on 10 October 2026, early entry window closes 15 December 2026, nominations close 30 January 2027, jury / management review runs 1 February – 15 March 2027, winners are confirmed internally on 20 March 2027, and the gala ceremony takes place on 14 November at Westin Marina Hotel, Dubai, UAE.
Judging
How the Jury team or the Management of Golden Tree scores entries on merit — the criteria, shortlisting, fairness and confidentiality.
Entries are assessed by the Jury team or the Management of Golden Tree with relevant domain expertise. Judges are assigned to categories that match their background and evaluate every submission on merit against published criteria.
Yes. Scoring is carried out by the external jury, not by the organising team, and the result is determined purely by merit. Paying an entry fee has no influence on the outcome whatsoever. You can read more about the approach on the judging process page.
Judges weigh several pillars: real-world impact, originality, genuine innovation, measurable outcomes and results, scalability, and the strength of the evidence supplied. Entries that quantify their results — adoption, efficiency, revenue, customer or societal benefit — consistently score higher than those that rely on description alone.
No. There is no public voting in the World Technology Awards. Results are decided solely by the Jury team or the Management of Golden Tree scoring against the criteria, so winners are chosen on merit rather than on popularity, social reach or campaign mobilisation.
After every eligible entry is scored, the highest-performing submissions in each category progress to the shortlist. Shortlisted finalists are notified and published online, and the final winners are then confirmed from that shortlist during the jury's closing deliberation.
Each entry is reviewed against the same published rubric, and scores go through a moderation and normalisation step that reconciles differences between individual judges so no entrant is advantaged or disadvantaged by which reviewer they happened to receive. This keeps results consistent across categories.
The best entries are specific and evidence-led. They clearly state the problem, the solution, what was achieved, and back it up with numbers and proof — metrics, customer outcomes, testimonials, screenshots or links. Focus on demonstrable results and originality rather than adjectives, and answer the criteria directly.
Information you submit is handled in confidence and used only to judge and administer the awards. Judges review it solely for scoring purposes. Share only what you are comfortable disclosing under our confidentiality terms — you can describe sensitive results in ranges or percentages rather than absolute figures if you prefer.
Judges must declare any commercial or personal interest in an entrant and recuse themselves from scoring that entry. No judge evaluates a category in which they hold a stake, which protects the integrity and credibility of every result.
Reaching the shortlist is itself meaningful feedback on the strength of your entry. Summary feedback can be made available on request to help entrants improve future submissions, subject to judge availability. Many companies that were finalists one year refine their entry and go on to win the next.
Shortlist announcements are public, but the final winners are kept under embargo and revealed live at the gala in Dubai to preserve the occasion. All submitted information remains confidential and is used only for judging and administration.
Individual judge scores and raw rankings are not published, to protect the confidentiality of the jury's deliberations and to keep the process fair for everyone. Where available, summary feedback gives a useful sense of how an entry was received without disclosing the underlying scoresheet.
After scoring and moderation, the jury holds a final deliberation in which the top-scoring shortlisted entry in each category is confirmed as the winner. The decision rests entirely with the independent panel and is based on the published criteria.
Fee & Costs
How free nomination, the optional paid plans and the Winner Package work — and where to find the current figures.
No. Nomination is free — there is no nomination fee and no registration fee. The Free plan covers one award programme in one category at City level, with a mandatory Winner Package order if you are selected as a winner; optional paid plans start with Silver at USD 140. The full plan comparison is listed transparently on the fees page.
All current pricing for the optional paid nomination plans and the Winner Package is published on the fees page; nomination itself is free under the Free plan. We keep the figures in one place so they are always up to date — please refer there for exact amounts rather than relying on any quoted number elsewhere.
Nomination is free under the Free plan — one award programme in one category at City level — and optional paid plans from Silver at USD 140 add more categories and a higher competition level. The Winner Package is a separate order for those who win: it activates the winner title and grants the right to use the award name, and it bundles the physical and promotional benefits of recognition such as a trophy, certificate and official assets. A Winner Package order is mandatory if you are selected as a winner under the Free plan. Full details of both are on the fees page.
No. Fees never guarantee or influence a win. Scoring is carried out by the Jury team or the Management of Golden Tree against published criteria, completely separate from payment. The fees for optional paid plans and the Winner Package cover the cost of running the programme, nothing more.
Nomination is free under the Free plan, so there is nothing to refund. Fees for optional paid plans are non-refundable, because work begins as soon as a submission is processed. We recommend reviewing the published refund terms before you choose a paid plan. If you have a specific circumstance, the awards team is happy to talk it through with you.
Yes. Winning is decided by the Jury team or the Management of Golden Tree on merit, and the Winner Package is what activates the winner title — under the Free plan a Winner Package order is mandatory if you are selected as a winner. Ordering it grants the right to use the award name and winner title, together with the physical trophy, certificate and official promotional assets. Without a Winner Package, the winner title and award name may not be used.
Winner packages generally bundle benefits such as a physical trophy and certificate, an official digital winner's badge and logo for your website and marketing, a profile in the winners' showcase and promotional support. The exact contents at each level are listed on the winner package price page.
Gala attendance, tables and additional guest seats are arranged separately from the nomination plan and the Winner Package. Details on attendance options are shared with finalists and are also available from the awards team. Any associated figures are confirmed during that process rather than quoted on this page.
Nomination is free under the Free plan whichever category you choose. The optional paid plans vary by the number of categories and the competition level you select, and the complete, current breakdown is on the fees page so you can see exactly what applies before you commit.
No. Browsing the categories, sectors and information pages is completely free — and so is nominating under the Free plan, with no nomination fee and no registration fee. A charge only applies if you choose an optional paid plan or, as a winner, when you order the mandatory Winner Package; everything is set out on the fees page.
The awards team is happy to help with any question about fees, the winner package or payment. You can reach them through the contact page, by email at awards@goldentreeawards.com, or via WhatsApp, and they typically respond within one working day.
Gala Ceremony
Everything about the night in Dubai — venue, date, dress code, passes, guests, photography and travel.
The gala takes place on Saturday 14 November 2026, from 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM, at Westin Marina Hotel, Dubai, UAE in Dubai, UAE. The evening combines the awards presentation with dinner and networking.
Yes — the gala is a formal black-tie evening. Guests are encouraged to dress in formal eveningwear in keeping with the occasion, which brings together winners, finalists, judges and senior technology leaders from around the world.
No. Attendance is not a condition of winning. That said, the gala is the highlight of the programme and a rare chance to collect your award on stage and celebrate with your team. Winners who cannot attend can arrange to have their award delivered.
Winners are recognised on stage and can receive a physical trophy and certificate, plus the official digital winner's badge and assets that come with the Winner Package. Recognition is also reflected in the winners' showcase and supporting promotion.
Gala passes and seats are reserved in advance. Details on passes and table options are shared with finalists and are available through the awards team. Because seating is allocated ahead of the night, we recommend confirming your party early.
Yes. You can reserve additional seats or a full table so you can host your team, partners or clients on the night. Seating is arranged in advance, so it is best to confirm guest numbers early with the awards team.
Yes. The gala is professionally photographed and filmed, and selected highlights are published afterwards. Winners and attendees often use these images and clips in their own marketing. By attending, guests consent to appearing in event coverage used for promotional purposes.
Highlights from the evening, including stage and group photography, are made available after the ceremony, and winners are welcome to use them in their communications. These complement the official digital badge and assets included in the winner package.
Travel and accommodation are arranged by guests themselves. Westin Marina Hotel, Dubai, UAE is well served by Dubai's international airports and offers on-site hotel rooms. We recommend booking flights and a room early, as November is a popular season in Dubai.
The evening runs from 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM and blends a formal awards presentation with a seated dinner and networking. It is an opportunity to celebrate winners and finalists, meet the judges, and connect with senior technology leaders from across the globe.
For anything related to gala attendance, passes, guests or logistics, reach the awards team via the contact page, by email at awards@goldentreeawards.com, or by WhatsApp. Finalists also receive direct guidance on attendance once the shortlist is announced.