Stage is set for Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards

Winners of the Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards will be revealed on April 15.

A virtual ceremony in a specially-created environment will be held from 6pm, attended by leaders and experts from a host of businesses and research organisations.

There will be networking beforehand in our interactive environment and again after the ceremony, in a unique virtual bar.

Limited tickets are now on sale via Eventbrite.

The awards, being held for the fourth time, have rapidly garnered a reputation as the leading celebration of science and technology in the region, and attract international attention.

Winners in 14 categories will be revealed, covering sectors ranging from biotech to AI, cleantech to innovation.

Two individual categories – for CEO of the Year and Researcher of the Year – are included.

And this year, there is a Covid-19 Response Award, reflecting the extraordinary effort from the region in responding to the pandemic.

Editor Paul Brackley, who will host the ceremony, said: “Our nominees never fail to impress us and selecting the winners was no easy task for our judges.

“The awards underline how the Cambridge region is an extraordinary powerhouse of scientific and technological innovation.”

The ceremony is being held later than usual because of the impact of the pandemic.

“While we cannot hold a physical ceremony, we have worked hard to ensure that one of the most entertaining elements of these awards – the networking before and after the ceremony – can still take place,” said Paul.

Working with the events company Collab, a virtual venue has been created that allows attendees to see and speak to others on their table, or move between tables and areas as you would at a physical venue.

The winners will be announced live on screen for those attending.

“We are excited to share what we have created with our audience, and hope that it goes some way to making up for the fact that we cannot yet all meet in person,” added Paul.

“We are grateful to our sponsors for their unstinting support, and look forward to chatting to them, our nominees and our guests on the night.”

One lucky finalist will secure £1,500 of free IP advice from sponsor Appleyard Lees, the Cambridge-based firm of IP specialists and patent attorneys.

And another company supporting the event again is COEL, the Cambridge-based office and laboratory design and fit-out specialist.

It has helped with the ‘fit-out’ of the unique virtual space created for the awards by supporting the video production work.

Paul said: “We are delighted that COEL is continuing its support of the awards. We have pulled out all the stops to ensure our virtual ceremony is special, and COEL has been a big help.”

Barnaby Clark, COEL’s group sales and marketing director, said: “This is a fantastic event which celebrates companies and individuals which are breaking boundaries, changing our world for the better and widening our horizons. As COEL designs and fits out the working environments for many companies within the science and tech sector, we are delighted to support an event which highlights the progressive and beneficial research and work being carried out in Cambridge and the local region.”

Nominees and sponsors attend for free and have been sent invitations.

THE FINALISTS

Start-up of the Year, sponsored by Kao Data

• Biofidelity
• Intellegens
• Kubos
• Qkine
• RoboK
• VividQ

STEM Initiative of the Year, sponsored by MathWorks

• Cambridge LaunchPad
• Cambridge Science Centre
• Padlock
• Raspberry Pi
• Redgate Software
• St Mary’s School Cambridge

Cleantech Company of the Year, sponsored by Woodfines

• Alchemie Technology
• Cambond
• Camnexus
• Spotta Smart Pest Systems

Biotech Company of the Year, sponsored by Appleyard Lees

• Avacta Group
• bit.bio
• Cerevance
• Evonetix
• Microbiotica
• Phoremost

Technology Company of the Year, sponsored by the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Anglia Ruskin University

• IQGeo
• OKRA Technologies
• Pure ID Labs
• SciBite

The Award for Innovation, sponsored by Cambridge Precision Ltd

• Biofidelity
• bit.bio
• o2h group
• PragmatIC
• Sook
• Start Codon

Medtech Company of the Year, sponsored by Chesterford Research Park

• C2-Ai
• Cellular Highways
• Glyconics
• NeedleDock

CEO of the Year, sponsored by Tilney

• Anthony Cooke, Cambridge Clinical Laboratories
• Sarah Howell, Arecor
• John Hoyle, Sook
• Mark Kotter, bit.bio
• Jessica Ocampos, Camnexus
• Sunil Shah, o2h Group

Researcher of the Year, sponsored by AstraZeneca

• Dr David Aldridge, College Reader in Zoology, University of Cambridge
• Dr Melanie Eckersley-Maslin, BBSRC Discovery Fellow, Babraham Institute Cambridge
• Dr Zunlong Ke, Postdoctoral Scientist on a Career Development Fellowship at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
• Dr Ruodan Lu, Senior Member of Darwin College, University of Cambridge
• Dr Emma Pomeroy, Lecturer in the Evolution of Health, Diet and Disease, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge
• Dr Omer Ziv, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Prof Eric Miska’s lab, Wellcome Trust / Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge

Covid-19 Response Award, sponsored by Sagentia

• Alchemie Technology
• Avacta Group
• John Briggs Group, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
• Cambridge Clinical Laboratories
• Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge
• Dr Tobias Wauer, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology

AI Company of the Year, sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Centre at Cambridge Judge Business School

• AlgoDynamix
• BIOS Health
• C2-Ai
• Intellegens
• OKRA Technologies
• techspert.io

Tech for Good Award, sponsored by Allia Future Business Centre

• Arete Medical Technologies
• Healx
• LocANTS, from Dr Arunava Dhar and colleagues, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
• POCKiT diagnostics
• Twipes

The One to Watch, sponsored by cofinitive

• BIOS Health
• Flusso
• Glyconics
• Spotta Smart Pest Systems
• techspert.io
• VividQ

Life Science Company of the Year, sponsored by BioStrata

• Avacta Group
• Cerevance
• CN Bio
• Evonetix
• Microbiotica
• PhoreMost

Read more

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