Mumbai: Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder, Biocon India, received has received the 'technology change agent award' at the 'Wharton-Infosys business transformation awards (WIBTA) 2006, Asia Pacific instituted jointly by Infosys Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: INFY) and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

The awards, which are entering their fifth year, recognise visionaries and organisations that use technology in an innovative and creative manner to revolutionise their businesses. Cyworld, a South Korean social network service comprising nearly 17 million people, received the 'enterprise business transformation award.'

A special acknowledgement was made this year to OhmyNews, a South Korean online citizens' reporting forum. The award was presented by N R Narayana Murthy, chairman of the board and chief mentor, Infosys Technologies, Patrick Harker, dean of the Wharton School and Esther eDyson, editor-at-large of CNET Networks.

This is the first time the awards are being presented in India.

Bringing two biotech joint-ventures into fruition and assisting the government's department of biotechnology, she helps synergise efforts in business, technology and academia to stimulate increased sector growth in India. Speaking at the awards ceremony, Dr Mazumdar-Shaw said, "As information technology becomes a key driver of stakeholder value for an organisation, it is operational excellence through continuous innovation that determines success. It is a pleasure to have our efforts in this direction be recognised internationally through an award as distinguished as WIBTA."

A long-time leader in the Indian biotechnology industry, Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has spearheaded Biocon's growth from a traditional enzymes manufacturer to fully integrated biopharmaceutical firm with major R&D initiatives.

CyWorld, the WIBTA 2006 'enterprise business transformation award.'recipient, has redefined how users interact in the digital age by blending offline and online life into a widely used social network service that have grown to over 17 million users in South Korea. With plans to expand internationally, the company's success heralds a new age of e-society as it allows users to create a fully customisable webpage.

On receiving the award, Seung-Hoon Lee, senior vice president, CyWorld, commented, "It's an honour to stand here recognised for the innovational excellence that has allowed CyWorld the distinct privilege of connecting millions of people in an online society. WIBTA is a distinguished proponent of the spirit of innovation and should drive organisations across the world to pursue new-found growth through business transformation."

The recipient of the special jury recognition, Korean news service OhmyNews was founded on the premise that "every citizen is a reporter," OhmyNews is accredited for having a tremendous impact on the news production, distribution and consumption habits of citizens across the world. By promoting an inclusive online forum for news reporting, OhmyNews encourages online global collaboration and claims over 40,000 contributing journalists world-wide, generating over one million hits daily.

OhmyNews president, Oh Yeon Ho, reflected on the importance of online social movements, "Being acknowledged by institutions such as Infosys and Wharton confirms the arrival of citizen journalism as a catalyst to create an egalitarian media. "

Murthy said, "Organisations should look beyond technological innovation as a means of delivering business impact to realise that innovation has the potential to transform a whole community. WIBTA is a tribute to the leaders, who envisioned and executed the transformation process propelling their organisations to new-found growth and impacting the society as a whole."

Complimenting the winners, Harker, said, "Five years ago, the Wharton School joined with Infosys to express our shared commitment to business innovation. WIBTA continues to promote pioneering efforts that redefine the norms of business to produce disruptive competitive advantage and create new benchmarks for the industry. We are proud of the partnership that sponsors these awards and are truly delighted to join Infosys in honouring the winners this year."

The winners were evaluated on stringent criteria by a jury panel comprising of eminent thought-leaders like Esther Dyson of CNET Networks, and Prof. Harbir Singh, co-director, Mack Center at the Wharton School.