Search on for business pioneers as The News Innovation Awards 2022 is launched

The News is once more looking for the most ground-breaking and pace-setting companies and entrepreneurs in our region as we launch our second Innovation Awards.

The new business event was launched with great success last year and is back with a bang for 2022. This year’s gala ceremony is being held at the University of Portsmouth’s Centre for Creative and Immersive Extended Reality (CCIXR )in October and entries are now open.

The awards cover a wide range of sectors such as health, education, community, defence and the environment and full details can be found at http://portsmouthinnovation.co.uk

Returning as headline sponsor is BAE Systems.

Antony Mrozicki, Head of Innovation Labs at BAE, said: “Innovation is the heart of what we do at BAE Systems here in Portsmouth. It’s also the life blood of so many of the companies around the Portsmouth region and the foundation of a bright future for our city. That’s why we’re proud to be the title sponsor for the second year running of the Portsmouth News Innovation Awards.”

The awards are also supported by a number of key category sponsors, including Get Set Solent, Start Up Disruptors, Portsmouth Water, Portsmouth Grammar School and the

University of Portsmouth.

Last year’s inaugural awards were held at the Village Hotel in November. More than 120 guests gathered to see the latest innovations in and around our city and celebrate some of the most remarkable local companies. Inspirational speeches were given by special guests Josh Robinson, from events business LMSUKMedia, who won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at The News’ Business Excellence Awards, and Becky Lodge, founder of Startup Disruptors.

The top award of the evening – Innovative Business of the Year – was given to Hayling Island-based boutique IT consultancy Datavault, which also was named Digital Innovation of the Year. On the night Datavault’s Sam Cole said they were shocked and proud to be honoured.

She added: ‘We are a small firm who specialise in building data warehouses. Most of our staff have joined us in the last few years and we have grown our revenue by 150 per cent in that short time. We are proud of our system. It is helping large companies in America, Australia and all over the world. Thank you for the recognition.’

Other winners included Endometriosis South Coast (health), Urbond (community): TIPCI (manufacturing), Subsea (Defence/Maritime) and Portsmouth Aqua (environmental)

Speaking of this year’s launch, editor of The News Mark Waldron said: ‘We devised these awards last year to celebrate the city as a pioneering place to do business and to shine the spotlight on the fantastic innovators we have in our region. It’s great to have our key sponsors on board again – especially with BAE Systems returning as headline sponsors – and the university’s CCIXR is a fantastic and fitting venue.

‘Innovation remains at the heart of the future economic success of Portsmouth and the whole Solent region so we again want to celebrate those companies and individuals who are leading the way in their sectors. Entries are open now and I look forward to hearing once again about the incredible achievements being made.’

To find out more about the awards, how to enter or how to join the event as a sponsor, go to our dedicated awards website.