the rockstars awards 2026
During Rockstars Valley 2026, we will once again present the Rockstars Awards! An ode to guts, impact, culture and stories that make a difference in tech. Do you know an organization, team or speaker that deserves a stage? Let’s hear from you and nominate them!
Innovator Award
Social Impact Award
Happiness Champion
Theme Award: Engineering Under Pressure
Mic Drop Award
Rockstars Innovator Award
For the team that shows guts in digitization and innovation – even if it is off the beaten path.
The Rockstars Innovator Award is for teams that have made impressive, innovative strides within their project. True Digital Daredevils who have committed to a bold pilot, innovation implementation or idiosyncratic approach to a problem. You and your team have brought real innovation within your project and the digital world with your work.
Selection Criteria
Bold in approach
The team took a rebellious approach. No standard solutions, but an innovative way of thinking and acting. They did not avoid risks, but rather ventured into uncharted territory.
Digital innovation
There is demonstrable use of new technologies or digital methods. It does not have to be technologically perfect, but innovative, educational and relevant.
Inspiration for others
The case inspires other organizations to leave their own comfort zone. Knowledge sharing, openness about learning points and involvement in the community creates a story that others want to immediately apply in practice.
Winners 2025
ASML – Project BOOST
ASML’s team showed that true innovation starts with thinking beyond the standard. Their smart approach was adopted worldwide and earned recognition up to the level of Java Competence Lead.
THE ROCKSTARS SOCIAL IMPACT AWARD
Because the best tech not only makes you smarter, it makes you better.
The Rockstars Social Impact Award is for teams that have made social impact with their project. A solution that brings sustainable or social innovation.
This solution is not just about innovation, but more importantly the impact it makes. The team looks beyond just technical development and makes a conscious commitment to support, inclusion and positive change.
Selection Criteria
Measurable or palpable impact
The project had a clear impact on inclusion, sustainability, accessibility or social value. A positive impact was demonstrably made through this solution.
Scaling potential
The approach is not only unique, but also scalable or inspiring to others. Wider applicability, adoption or replication has been deliberately considered.
Leadership and guts
The organization and/or team has demonstrated a willingness to invest in a forward-looking vision despite risk, resistance or complexity. Social impact is visibly embedded in policy, culture or leadership.
Winners 2025
Enexis – GenAI Acceleration Team
Enexis is showing that innovation can also have a direct social impact. With their GenAI solution, they help call center employees work smarter, more consistently and more effectively.
The results are tangible and the approach is designed to be widely rolled out. In doing so, the team proves that technological innovation and social value can go hand in hand extremely well.
The Rockstars Happiness Award
For leaders who understand that culture is not an afterthought, but the main issue.
The Rockstars Happiness Award goes to projects that put people first. People and technology go hand in hand. Culture guides the approach and is woven into an inclusive team culture where teammates can flourish.
The project has demonstrably contributed to an improvement in the culture or demonstrates itself to create a strong group culture centered on people.
Selection Criteria
Active commitment to culture, making a diverse team successful & team spirit
The organization or team takes concrete steps to build a healthy, positive and agile team culture. Think inclusive decision-making, space for diversity, transparent communication, team rituals or a hybrid work strategy with human touch.
Work happiness is reflected in the (technical) solution
The project shows that the team experienced work happiness during development. Think of creative solutions that emerged through mutual connection, or teammates who solved complex challenges thanks to complementarity and diversity.
Leadership that makes culture visible
There is inspiring leadership present – formal or informal – that makes culture visible in behavior, choices and exemplary conduct. No fancy words on the wall, but culture in action.
Impact and role model
The approach or culture has a demonstrable effect on employee satisfaction, retention, collaboration or innovativeness. Other organizations and teams can learn from this or be inspired by it.
Winners 2025
Essent – Project DOPE
Essent’s team shows what culture change really means. By focusing on psychological safety, neurodiversity and open communication, they made the step from frustration to ownership.
The result: a proactive organization and measurable business impact that shows how culture and performance can reinforce each other.
THE ROCKSTARS THEME AWARD: ENGINEERING UNDER PRESSURE
For companies that don’t stand still, but get moving.
This year we are adding a new award in keeping with the theme of Rockstars Valley. As engineers and engineering organizations, we are under pressure. Technological developments follow each other at lightning speed, requirements are becoming increasingly complex and the world demands solutions that are not only smart, but also safe, sovereign and future-proof.
The Engineering Under Pressure Award goes to the team or company that doesn’t stand still, but gets moving. An organization that has developed a concrete, working solution in the areas of AI readiness, cloud sovereignty or security – or a combination thereof.
A team that shows that pressure does not paralyze, but rather spurs action. That transforms urgency into a solution that gives direction, creates confidence and inspires others.
Selection Criteria
Working Under Pressure
The tech world is under unprecedented pressure: lightning-fast AI developments, stricter requirements around sovereignty and an ever-changing threat landscape. This criterion assesses how the team has dealt with those pressures.
Have they turned urgency into action? Has a solution emerged that not only responds to today’s challenges, but also holds up when the world changes tomorrow?
AI Impact
The team has intentionally and progressively deployed AI within the project. This could mean that AI is already being actively used, or that there is a concrete plan to use AI for new insights, processes or developments.
Crucially, the team challenged itself to seriously explore the role of AI – today and in the future.
Cloud sovereignty
The team made conscious choices around cloud sovereignty. When developing and/or implementing the solution, opportunities within European cloud infrastructure were actively considered.
There is a reasoned vision that clearly explains and justifies these choices.
Security
The team treated security not as an afterthought, but as a starting point. Potential vulnerabilities were identified and a clear strategy was developed for both the current situation and future developments.
Winner will be announced during Rockstars Valley 2026.
ROCKSTARS MIC DROP AWARD
For the talk that lingers for days to come.
The Mic Drop Award honors the conference’s most impactful talk. Not chosen by a jury, but by the public.
Immediately after a session, visitors can give their ratings. Fresh from inspiration. The winner? The one who perfectly combined content, energy and timing. A speaker who didn’t just speak, but really made a difference.
After all sessions have taken place, the ratings are collected and the Mic Drop Award is presented to the speaker with the highest average rating.
Make judgments based on:
Inspirational power
Did the session produce new ideas, insights or perspectives that stick?
Relevance and content
Was the content valuable, current and directly applicable to the target audience?
Energy & delivery of the speaker
Did the speaker manage to bring the audience along through presentation power, enthusiasm and storytelling?
Impact
Did the session actually set something in motion, make you think or prompt action?
Winners 2025
Martijn Beenker
Martijn managed to win through a strong combination of content and impact. With a concrete and directly applicable approach, he showed how to proactively secure data quality within a modern data architecture.
His session translated complex issues into practical insights and immediately usable code, allowing engineers to immediately apply the knowledge gained to their own practice.
Application procedure
Rockstars Awards 2026 - Rockstars Valley
"*" indicates required fields
Jury
Saskia Nijs
Executive Human & AI | CIO - Human WorkforceJuror
Tessy van Stuijvenberg
CCO - Team Rockstars ITJury for the preliminary selection
Tessy is CCO at Team Rockstars IT.
Simone van Erp
CPO - Team Rockstars ITJury for the preliminary selection
Simone is CPO at Team Rockstars IT.
Mirjam van Olst
Chief of Mastery - Team Rockstars ITJury for the preliminary selection
Mirjam is Chief of Mastery at Team Rockstars IT.
faq
Yes, participation in the Rockstars Awards is free of charge. You can submit your project without obligation using the form.
Yes, you may submit multiple projects, as long as each project is submitted separately and fits within the award criteria.
Yes, for a maximum of two awards. If your project is relevant to multiple categories, you can submit it for multiple awards. The judges will evaluate the appropriateness of the project for each category.
We understand that projects may contain sensitive information. Therefore, only share information that may be shared externally.
Upon selection, we always coordinate any publication or presentation so that confidential details remain protected.
Yes, international projects are welcome, as long as they are relevant to the IT community and fit within the award criteria.
The submission may be in Dutch or English.
Nominated and winning projects may be used (by agreement) for communications, such as case studies, content or promotion. Unsuccessful submissions will not be actively shared.