ExpHand founder Kate Allan was honoured to be invited to the LeicestershireLive Innovation Awards, part of the annual Leicestershire Innovation Festival. The 5th annual awards ceremony was held in the National Space Centre on the 16th of February.
ExpHand was one of three finalists selected for the Innovation in Med-Tech and Life Sciences category. We were honoured for our business to be shortlisted for the award, and to be given Highly Commended!
What are the LeicestershireLive Innovation Awards?
The LeicestershireLive Innovation Awards were launched in 2018. It is an annual event with the aim to highlight innovation and champion new ideas and changes made in businesses across all sectors. The awards are supported by LeicestershireLive and their sister website BusinessLive.
LeicestershireLive celebrates improvement in technology, digital advances, creative thinking and business practices in the Leicester region. This year's awards were held in partnership with headline sponsors the University of Leicester, De Montfort University and Morningside Pharmaceuticals. Individual categories were sponsored by Acute Business Advisory, MIRA Technology Institute, Intelligent Energy, Rolls-Royce and Loughborough University.
Many local leaders in business and education were present, and it was exciting to hear speeches from and be in the company of people responsible for such great leaps forward in research and growth. The keynote speech was delivered by Indro Mukerjee, the CEO of Innovate UK. It was great to hear his insight on the relevance and importance of such awards, and the service they provide to new and exciting business ideas. Awards like these support businesses by raising their profile and establishing them as a strong employment opportunity, aiding in the development and success of the company.
ExpHand are very proud to have been shortlisted for the award for Innovation in Med-Tech and Life Sciences. Judges of the awards spoke highly of the calibre of entries for each award, and it was clear that the tech and entrepreneurship on display was hugely impressive. We are incredibly grateful to everyone at the LeicestershireLive Innovation Awards, and having ExpHand recognised as a Highly Commended entry is a huge success for Kate and the ExpHand team.
History of the Awards
The LeicestershireLive Innovation Awards recognise innovative companies and individuals in almost any sector, and in any phase of business - from development and engineering to the manufacturing and delivery of innovative solutions. Graduate projects and established corporations are given equal respect, which shows the understanding of the expert judges that innovation can come from anywhere.
The awards ceremony is the flagship event of the broader Leicestershire Innovation Festival, which has grown to a fortnight of over 20 handpicked events providing encouragement and education around innovation and entrepreneurship across many industries.
The Leicestershire Innovation Festival focuses on collaboration between innovators and industry experts, encouraging knowledge exchange between organisations with different skill sets in order for successful innovative projects to take shape. Innovation is at the heart of business growth, and it’s essential that UK businesses have access to a supportive ecosystem that facilitates product development and commercialisation. The Innovation Festival believes in providing an agile, inclusive environment which enables UK SMEs to develop innovative products and services that can be quickly brought to market.
These practical events are hosted independently by universities, non-profits, investors, consultants and small businesses from the area, serving as useful activities as well as a high quality network for people in the city. By taking advantage of the events available, businesses are able unlock opportunities organically by actively engaging with other players in their sector. Networking events like this are not always feasible for smaller companies, given the budget constraints and other limitations they face. Through events like the LeicestershireLive Innovation Awards, they are able to leverage established networks within a multitude of niche sectors, which gives them greater visibility amongst peers while remaining agile enough to adapt rapidly.
On behalf of everyone at ExpHand, Kate would like to congratulate the winners in all categories, but particularly the PHOSP-COVID team who won our category and CarbonVue for winning Innovator of the year! We would also like to once again thank the LeicestershireLive Innovation Awards for selecting ExpHand as a highly commended finalist, as well as planning and putting on a great evening. If the night was anything to go by, Leicester's community of thriving innovation and entrepreneurship is sure to be exciting for years to come.
For more information about ExpHand's recognition you can check out our media page, or if you want to learn more about our founder you can read about Kate and how ExpHand started here.
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