Over the last month, I asked you all to nominate candidates for the 2024 Technical.ly Awards and vote for your favorites. The results are finally in, scroll to check out this year's winners. 

If you've been subscribed to this newsletter for a while, you might've noticed that digital equity is a topic I'm passionate about. I spent most of the fall deep-diving into the world of digital navigators and trying to learn if they were a long-term solution to digital equity challenges, or if they were distracting from systemic change. We find out the answer in the article below. 

— Sarah, Technical.ly lead reporter in Philly

P.S. If you work a four-day workweek now or you have in the past, I want to hear from you! Reply to this email and let me know how your experience went. 

Get insights from Technical.ly CEO Christopher Wink during his annual State of the Tech Economy webinar at noon on Dec. 11. He’ll explore trends from across the mid-Atlantic region, followed by a panel discussion with industry leaders. RSVP for smart takes you can’t afford to miss.

➡️ Read about how the digital navigator model works

➡️ Find out who won this year's Technical.ly Awards

• Do you have old cell phones and laptops lying around? Here are 16 places you can responsibly dispose of them in Philadelphia. [Technical.ly]

• 2024 was full of milestone anniversaries, national tech conferences, major shakeups and opportunities for Philly to show off on a national stage. Check out this interactive timeline of tech stories this year. [Technical.ly]

• The University City Science Center announced the sixth cohort of its Capital Readiness Program. Ten healthtech companies from around the country will come to Philly for a weeklong bootcamp this month. [The Science Center]

• Coatesville-based founder Susan Springsteen won a spot at the 2024 Global TiE Women Pitch Summit in Bangalore, India. Springsteen's company H2O Connected develops tech products that identify water loss issues in toilets. [Western Chester County Chamber of Commerce]

• The Health Federation of Philadelphia is accepting applications from Philly orgs to provide funding for a digital health navigator through the National Health Corps Community Health Fellowship Project. These navigators help patients access technology associated with their care. [National Health Corps]

• The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority will distribute over 9,000 laptops across the commonwealth through the Digital Connectivity Technology Program, including 200 for Beyond Literacy in Philadelphia. [DCED]

• Vitara Biomedical raised a $50 million Series B. The company is developing an artificial womb. [Philly Biz Journal]

• The Wharton School hosted a panel about AI regulation and policy. [YouTube]

Technical.ly’s annual State of the Tech Economy reports drop next week, but you don’t have to navigate the jam-packed downloads yourself — let Chris Wink walk you through them! That’s what’ll happen at the webinar he’s got lined up for next week.

Tune in on LinkedIn Live as industry leaders from across the Mid-Atlantic join Chris to break down trends from the past year and look forward to 2025. What does the new federal administration mean for the local innovation landscape? Which communities are thriving and which are in danger of being left behind? What’s the best way to tell your region’s success stories?

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 RSVP for the virtual event at 12 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11