2026 UC Tech Awards: Applications Open March 2–23

Applications and nominations for the 2026 UC Tech Awards Program will be open Monday, March 2nd until Monday, March 23rd at 11:59 p.m.

This program recognizes the technology contributions of staff and faculty across locations and disciplines, including business operations, research, education, patient care and public service. The awards have grown to seven categories, ranging from design and IT security to operational excellence and AI initiatives. Winners will be announced and celebrated at a formal awards ceremony during the July 2026 UC Tech Conference, which will be held at UC Merced.

Apply or nominate a colleague or team to allow the UC Tech community to learn more about the work supporting digital transformation at UC. The application is a two-step process:

Download the application form in Word and complete it offline.
Upload your application to the application portal by Monday, March 23rd at 11:59 p.m.

What Are the UC Tech Awards?

The UC Tech Awards Program recognizes outstanding technology work that makes a meaningful impact across the University of California. The program celebrates initiatives that advance digital transformation and highlight the people behind UC’s most innovative technology efforts.

Benefits of Participating

All applicants receive valuable benefits by applying:

Gain recognition for your contributions to digital transformation, which will be shared with the larger UC tech community.
Have your work reviewed by UC CIOs and other technical leaders and published online in UC Tech News.
Join exclusive networking opportunities with peers who are interested in your work.
If you win, receive one complimentary pass per winner/winning team to the UC Tech Conference and be honored during a formal awards ceremony.

Hear more about applying for the awards from applicants:

“You can spend your whole career working on something like Ilios…and never get to the end… In some ways, it can feel like you’re not making progress. But an award like this, it validated our whole team, in a big way. We all felt incredible for it.” —Jon Johnson, 2024 Gold Award Winner, Ilios Curriculum Management System Team at UCSF

Jon Johnson UCSF on why UC Tech Awards recognition matters

See this visual recap of Jon’s words.

UC Tech Annual Awards Categories for 2026

The awards recognize individuals and teams in these categories:

AI Impact Award (individual or team)
Design Award (individual or team)
Larry L. Sautter Award for Innovation in Information Technology (individual or team)
IT Security Award (individual or team)
Mojgan A. Amini Operational Excellence Award (individual or team)
Sustained Impact Award (individuals only)
Yvonne Tevis UC Collaboration Award (individual or team)

For a detailed description of each award, visit the 2026 UC Tech Awards page.

Join the Upcoming Information Session on March 12th

Learn about the 2026 UC Tech Awards application process and ask questions at the upcoming information session on March 12th from 2-3 p.m. The session will cover the overall program, 2026 award details, judging steps and a time for Q&A.

Join the session using this Zoom registration link.