Established in 2005, The Oxford Trust Enterprise Awards recognise and celebrate the breadth of innovative science and technology companies and entrepreneurs working in the region. The awards acknowledge the hard work of those who are just starting out on their innovation journey as well as established businesses that have become successful and had a major positive impact on the regional economy.

Over the past fourteen years, around forty individuals and businesses have won an Enterprise Award and previous winners include Oxford Nanopore, Oxbotica, Immunocore and Adaptix. The Awards, run in partnership with Venturefest Oxford, have gained an increasingly positive reputation as an event of value to the entrepreneurial community and beyond. Going forward we want to continue to build on this reputation by maintaining the successful format while also developing an event that feels fresh, exciting and of value to our stakeholders and attendees, and reflects the evolving innovation landscape in our region.

The 2019 Enterprise Award categories are:

• Barclays Award for Innovation – for a company that has developed an opportunity in the tech market and successfully created a business that benefits wider society and the economy. Companies should have been operating for more than three years.
• Triteq Young Entrepreneur Award – celebrating the outstanding performance of the young founder/s (under 40) of an innovative science and tech company.
• Advanced Oxford Technology Breakthrough Award – highlights a product or technology developed in Oxfordshire that could be a game changer in its field.
• Oxford Innovation Start-up Award – this new award recognises the outstanding performance of an Oxfordshire tech start-up that has been trading for one to three years as of March 31, 2019. The business must demonstrate outstanding performance, particularly over the past 12 months, in a number of aspects relating to their business operation. These should include commercial success, clear plans for growth, commitment to staff, local communities, environment and customers, a track record of innovation and strong leadership.
• The Oxford Trust Outstanding Achievement Award – celebrates an entrepreneur or influencer who is making, or has made, an outstanding contribution to innovation and society and had a major impact on enterprise and our economy.

A panel of judges comprising key players in the Oxfordshire innovation ecosystem will assess applications for the Start-up of the Year Award, Young Entrepreneur Award and the Barclays Award for Innovation. Winners of the Advanced Oxford Technology Breakthrough Award will be selected by members of Advanced Oxford and the recipient of The Oxford Trust Outstanding Achievement Award is chosen by the Board of Trustees. Prize money will be awarded to the winners for each category. Awards will be presented at a ceremony on Wednesday 11th September at Oxford Brookes University after Venturefest Oxford. The award ceremony is sponsored by Marks & Clerk.

You can find out more about the 2018 Award winners here.

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