RTIH founder and ETIH co-founder joins judging panel, bringing long-standing expertise in technology reporting, AI, and digital transformation.
We’re pleased to welcome our very own Scott Thompson to the ETIH Innovation Awards 2026 judging panel, adding more than two decades of experience in technology journalism, AI, and digital transformation.
As part of our ETIH Innovation Awards 2026 spotlight series, we’re continuing to announce the judges who will review entries across this year’s categories.
Each judge has been selected for practical experience, sector insight, and the ability to assess impact in real-world environments. Thompson joins Catherine Buckler, Neil Almond, Al Kingsley MBE, Tina Austin, and Jack Dowling on the panel, with more judges to be announced.
Judge profile
Scott Thompson is Executive Director of Paxton Media and Co-founder of EdTech Innovation Hub (ETIH). He is also Founder and Editor of RTIH, which provides independent reporting and analysis on retail technology.
Over the past 25 years, Thompson has held senior editorial roles across business and technology publications. Prior to launching RTIH, he was Editor at Coin Rivet and Senior Editor at IBS Intelligence, where he led IBS Journal and its online news service covering banking technology.
He also spent ten years at Retail Systems, reporting on developments in retail technology and building a detailed understanding of how digital systems shape both operations and customer experience.
RTIH was launched to address a gap in the market for independent retail technology coverage, focused on reporting, analysis, and research from specialists within the sector.
As Co-founder of ETIH, Thompson has played a central role in shaping the publication’s editorial direction, with a focus on how AI, digital tools, and emerging technologies are being implemented across education, skills, and workforce development. His work consistently examines how technology translates from strategy into classroom practice and institutional adoption, with an emphasis on measurable impact rather than surface-level innovation.
This combination of deep sector knowledge, editorial independence, and a cross-industry perspective places him in a strong position to assess entries that sit at the intersection of technology and education. His experience covering both the evolution of EdTech and the wider technology landscape brings a balanced and informed lens to the judging process.
Enter the ETIH Innovation Awards 2026
Entries for the ETIH Innovation Awards 2026 are now open. Submissions are reviewed by an independent judging panel made up of education leaders, researchers, and practitioners, including judges such as Catherine Buckler, Neil Almond, Al Kingsley OBE and Tina Austin.
To enter, download an entry form or submit via the entry link. The deadline for submissions is Friday, 27 March 2026, with the shortlist announced in April 2026.
For questions or further information, please contact Director of Content Emma Thompson.
ETIHETIH Innovation AwardsETIH Innovation Awards 2026ETIH Innovation Awards JudgesRTIH
