Catalyst team award

Recognizing achievements in igniting industry innovation, collaboration, and growth through co-creation.

Introduction

In 2025, 58 Catalyst teams co-created solutions to industry challenges faced by communications service providers and their technology partners. These projects were showcased at our DTW25 Ignite event in Copenhagen on 17-19 June, 2025.

This year, there were two sets of Catalyst Awards: the Open Innovation Catalyst Awards and the Moonshot Catalyst Awards.

Catalyst Awards DTW Ignite 2025

Moonshots only

Open Innovation and Moonshot Catalyst Awards

The Winners & Finalists will be announced during the Innovation Awards Ceremony on 19 June 2025 at DTW Ignite 2025.

Outstanding Catalyst - Business Impact

Awarded to the Catalyst that demonstrates the most compelling business impact & potential to be commercially deployed.

Outstanding Catalyst - Interactive Showcase

Awarded to the Catalyst that demonstrates the most interactive & engaging showcase at the event.

Outstanding Catalyst - Innovative & Futuristic

This award recognizes the team that has developed the most innovative and futuristic technology solution aimed at driving digital transformation within the industry.

Outstanding Catalyst - Use of TM Forum Assets

Awarded to the team that shows the most powerful use of TM Forum assets in their Catalyst project and quantify the benefits of using these assets.

Outstanding Catalyst – Tech for Good

Awarded to the Catalyst that demonstrates exemplary utilization of technology to make a difference to positively impact both community welfare and organizational culture, while ensuring attainment of sustainable development goals.

Outstanding Catalyst–Rising Star (for Phase-I / New Catalyst only)

Awarded to the new Phase 1 Catalyst team that demonstrates the most compelling and innovative solution.

Outstanding Catalyst – Application of AI & Automation

Awarded to the Catalyst that demonstrates best application of AI & Automation to drive efficiency & growth.

Outstanding Catalyst – Attendees Choice Award

Awarded to the Catalyst that receives the most votes in the onsite voting at DTW Ignite. All Open Innovation Catalysts are automatically eligible for this award.

Best Moonshot Catalyst – ODA in a box Challenge

Awarded to the Catalyst that offers the best ODA in a Box solutions simplifying telecom operations with modular, cloud-native designs for seamless scalability and agility, accelerating time-to-market for new services by 40%.

Best Moonshot Catalyst – Telco monetization Challenge

Awarded to the Catalyst that offers best solution to revolutionize enterprise connectivity by transforming networks into dynamic platforms for 5G B2B solutions through open, standardized APIs, driving a 20% annual increase in API-driven revenue.

Best Moonshot Catalyst – AN L4 Challenge

Awarded to the Catalyst that offers the best solution to empower Level 4 autonomous networks to self-optimize, self-heal, and deliver unparalleled efficiency with zero-touch intelligence, reducing operational costs by 30% through automation.

Best Moonshot Catalyst – Interactive Showcase

This award will be across all 15 Moonshot Catalysts & recognizes the best Moonshot Catalyst (irrespective of challenge) with most impactful and interactive demonstration to best showcase the solution/innovation. Judges will be reviewing the teams’ demonstrations based on engagement level, creativity, innovation, clear messaging and impact.

Best Moonshot Catalyst – Attendees’ Choice Award

Default category. All 15 Moonshot Catalysts will be eligible. Winner selected via onsite voting at DTW event using app.

Submissions

Submissions for the DTW Ignite 2025 Catalyst Awards closed on 16th May, 2025.

All Catalysts submitted an Awards submission form to become eligible for the awards, indicating the respective category(ies) their teams will compete for and providing proof points.

Winners & Finalists will be announced during the Innovation Awards Ceremony on 19 June 2025 at DTW Ignite 2025.

Judging

A panel of exceptional industry experts and executives from global member organizations will gather at DTW Ignite to review and judge the Catalyst projects. These judges bring a wealth of experience and expertise from various sectors within the telecommunications industry, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation process. They will assess each project against specific judging criteria, which include innovation, business impact, proof of concept, and scalability. This rigorous judging process is designed to recognize and reward the most groundbreaking and impactful Catalyst projects, highlighting their potential to drive significant advancements in the industry.

Meet the judges

To ensure an unbiased judging process, we collaborate with distinguished industry experts and executives from a variety of organizations to judge the Open Innovation and Moonshot Catalyst Awards.