The UK is home to a host of dynamic, technology-led companies and an internationally-renowned university sector. When the two work together the results are often nothing less than world class. The Engineer Technology & Innovation Awards will once more turn the spotlight on their achievements as the search for 2009’s winners begins. Now in its third year, this prestigious awards scheme is run by The Engineer, the leading magazine and website for technology and innovation, in conjunction with main sponsor BAE Systems.
For more than 150 years The Engineer has covered innovation in engineering and technology through economic booms, recessions and wars. A glance back through its pages teaches us that when times get tough, recovery is built on the foundations laid by innovation and ingenuity.That is as true in 2009 as ever and with the financial sector in disarray, engineering and technology are back at the top of the national agenda. There is no more important piece of the innovation jigsaw than the collaborative links between the UK’s businesses and universities.
The Engineer Technology & Innovation Awards 2009 will recognise and reward outstanding examples of that co-operation. With awards in eight categories spanning the key sectors of engineering and technology, the search for excellence will culminate in a special lunch in December at The Royal Society in London where the winners will be announced from a short-list.One of the category winners will then be named as recipient of The Engineer Special Award, chosen by The Engineer’s editorial team as the entry that particularly embodies the spirit of technology, innovation and collaboration between companies and universities. Companies and universities are equally eligible to nominate their collaborative projects. An expert panel of judges will assess the entries against the key criteria that will be used to draw up the short-list in each category. These will include: the degree of technical innovation involved in the entry; the value added to the entry through the collaboration between academic and commercial partners; the actual or potential impact of the entry on its market or end-users.
For full details of how to enter visit our categories page, and good luck!
Andrew Lee
Editor, The Engineer