.JPG "The Impact Awards logo")
The men and women driving some of the most exciting business relationships and entrepreneurial businesses of tomorrow have beaten off stiff competition to be shortlisted for The Impact Awards, organised by PraxisUnico. The nine teams – and three individuals have been shortlisted from 80 entries across all award categories. All the shortlisted entrants have made outstanding contributions to society and the economy through innovation.
These fledgling companies and collaborations range from programmes that support companies engaging with the academic research base across Scotland’s higher education and research institutes, to a business that promises to revolutionise the solar power industry.
Chair of PraxisUnico, Dr Phil Clare said, “The Impact Awards have once again revealed a rich mix of diverse projects which knowledge and technology transfer professionals contribute. These shortlisted entries are examples of some significant achievements within the profession. With the translation of research for economic benefit remaining a high priority for the nation – and of many institutional strategies – it is important that these projects, and others like them, are acknowledged.”
The Judging Panel, this year led by Professor Sir Timothy Wilson retired Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire added, “The strength and diversity of the entries for the 2011 awards made the task of the panel extremely challenging. Many of the submissions will have a significant impact within their application fields; and several will yield excellent commercial returns. It is a privilege to be exposed to such a wealth of ideas and innovations.”
Winners of The Impact Awards will be announced by Maggie Philbin at The Impact Awards ceremony, held at the PraxisUnico Conference Gala Dinner, on 9 June in Glasgow.
The shortlist
Business Impact Achieved Award, shortlisted entries are:
· Autonomous inspection of subsea cables and pipelines from SeeByte Ltd/Heriot Watt University
· VERT – Virtual Environment for Radiotherapy Training from The University of Hull
Business Impact Aspiring Award, shortlisted entries are:
· NGenTec- Creation of A Leading Renewables Spin-Out Company from University of Edinburgh/Edinburgh Research and Innovation
· Novacem from Imperial Innovations/Imperial College/Novacem
· High performance, low cost plastic solar cells from Cambridge Enterprise, University of Cambridge
Collaborative Impact, sponsored MRCT, shortlisted entries are:
· The InterAct Partnership: A unique PSRE collaboration from The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera)
· Interface – The knowledge connection for business from University of Edinburgh on behalf of all Scottish Universities
· GraftBolt®: from sketch to product from TrusTECH (North West NHS Innovation Hub)
· Great Western Research from Great Western Research
Career Track – KT Achiever of the Year award:
· Dr Ross McLennan from TMRI Ltd – a joint venture involving Scottish HEIs and NHS
· Dr John Pearson from University of Birmingham
· Dr Dawn Scott from University of Exeter