The winners of the 2021 LeicestershireLive Innovation Awards have been selected and recently announced during a special ceremony at the National Space Centre.
The awards are designed to recognise the very best technology, digital advances and creative thinking that Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland have to offer.
Winners included individuals and businesses that pre-Covid, during the pandemic and beyond are leading the way in all types of research and development, as well as in new manufacturing techniques, software design and the latest digital technologies that will shape future Britain.
A Lifetime Achievement Award was also presented to Richard Freeman, of Coalville-based Zeeko, which builds precision polishing machines for optics and other complex surfaces.
The full list of winners is:
Innovation in Services, sponsored by Furnley House – EarthSense
Innovation in Design – Leta-lux
Innovation in Education and Training – DMU e-Parasitology Project
Innovation in Construction – 3D Concrete Printing (Loughborough University)
Digital Innovation of the Year, sponsored by De Montfort University – BrainBerry
Innovation in Technology, sponsored by De Montfort University – Tzuka
Innovation in Schools – Woodbrook Vale School
Medical and Health Innovator of the Year, sponsored by Morningside Pharmaceuticals – Hive Composites
Innovation in Manufacturing and Engineering – Flotec
University Student Innovation – BeoBia
Innovation in Space, sponsored by the University of Leicester – Redshift Associates Ltd
Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by the University of Leicester – Richard Freeman, of Zeeko
Innovator of the Year, sponsored by the University of Leicester – Earthsense
Helen Donnellan, De Montfort University director of enterprise and business services, commented, “This year’s Innovation Awards have shown the wealth of ideas coming out of companies and entrepreneurs across Leicester and Leicestershire.
“Their willingness to try new things, test new approaches and take risks has only been intensified by the pandemic and as we have seen tonight, has led to some truly inspiring ideas and new products that have changed lives.”
