Awards celebrate Essex's high-flying business innovation partnerships

Inspiring businesses who have collaborated with Essex researchers to create new and exciting ways of working have been recognised during a glitzy awards ceremony.

The annual Celebration of Innovation event, held at Wivenhoe House, highlights successful projects and teams which have boosted business with innovative ideas and solutions.

Among the winners on the night was Essex charity Changing Lives, which claimed the Big Impact Award for its work with academics from the School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Science.

The project has explored the positive impact competitive sport can have on refugees’ wellbeing.

The Best Partnership (Large) Award went to global prevision marketing agency RAPP for its work in applying artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance its services, while Check4Cancer won the Best Partnership Award SME for the creation of a new AI framework to detect skin cancer.

The awards were hosted by AI and data expert, Natalie Cramp, partner at JMAN Group and Chair of Women’s Health, Women in Data.

Professor Gordon Wishart, Founder and Chief Medical Officer at Check4Cancer, was also a special guest on the night.

He made a keynote presentation on the value of AI and data, and its application in the work with Essex academics.

Delegates also explored their own innovation challenges in a unique Ask Me Anything session with Toby Mills, CEO and Founder of AI and data analytics firm, Entopy, Tara Protheroe, Digital Product Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support, and Nour Jabra Senior UX/UI Designer at EPC.

Other winners on the night included Dr Ana Matrán-Fernández, from Essex’s School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, who won the Best Academic Award for her work in better monitoring the crop growing process for G’s Growers using Machine Learning.

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) won the Best Public/ Private Sector prize for its use of data and AI to improve appointment scheduling, while the Rising Star title went to Roberto Mendivil Castro for supporting JEPCO Ltd with automating its hydroponics unit.

Essex’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor Chris Greer, who presented the awards on the night, said: “The Celebration of Innovation Awards are a wonderful way to highlight the excellent work being done here at the University of Essex. The innovative solutions being created by academics and businesses are transforming the ways industries work and think.

“Our partnerships with industry are a great example of the wider economic benefits brought about by the University and shows our brilliant research is leading to real-world impact.

“I want to congratulate all of the winners and look forward to seeing more successful collaborations formed between the University of Essex ad businesses across the UK.”

The 2024 winners

Big Impact Award

Changing Lives worked with Drs Chris McManus and Alison Swartz to explore the positive impact playing competitive football can have on refugees.

Refugees playing for Changing Lives’ team underwent testing at Essex’s Human Performance Unit, as well as taking part in interviews and completing surveys to provide evidence of the benefits.

Researchers have analysed the data and will set out the evidence for their conclusions in a new report, which will also make recommendations about next steps and ways to improve.

Best Academic Award

Dr Ana Matrán-Fernández has been sharing her expertise in data science and AI with G’s Growers; helping it to predict and manage crop availability in iceberg lettuce growing through Machine Learning.

A new approach to identify early deviations in size while crop is growing in the field has also been designed, based on the utilisation of mechanistic models.

The pioneering work will now be integrated within a wider project at G’s Growers, helping the company reduce crop wastage and achieve greater crop availability with less inputs.

Dr Matrán-Fernández was unable to attend the ceremony but G's Growers collected her award on her behalf.

Rising Star Award

Roberto Mendivil Castro has supported JEPCO, an agricultural organisation, in automating its hydroponics unit.

Roberto, who is completing a Masters in Computer Science at Essex while taking part in the KTP, has supported the creation of a 3D printable transplanting system which is one per cent of the cost of an industry alternative.

The introduction of two robots into JEPCO’s Hydroponic transplanting area has potential to bring about costs savings. In all operations explored, there is an estimated saving in time of 14,000 hours per annum which equates to approximately £217,000.

Best partnership (public/third sector) Award

ESNEFT has been working with Essex experts in data analytics and artificial intelligence to revolutionise the way they schedule patient appointments and surgeries.

Using machine learning, a new model has been created which can account for regular scheduling issues such as underrunning or overrunning appointments.

It is hoped the system will save hundreds of thousands of pounds each year and ensure an extra 300 people can be seen at the Essex and Suffolk Elective Orthopaedic Centre.

Best Partnership (Large) Award

RAPP has worked with Dr Faiyaz Doctor to apply cutting-edge AI technology to services for its automative, finance and luxury clients.

The global precision marketing agency has seen an increase in revenue due to the creation of new AI-based applications.

The use of machine learning has led to the creation of a first-if-its-kind content intelligence ecosystem which is helping to explain and track the performance of media assets for marketing campaigns.

Best Partnership (SME) Award

Check4Cancer teamed up with Essex’s School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering to use AI to revolutionise skin cancer diagnosis pathways, aiming to reduce waiting times and unnecessary biopsies.

Working with Drs Haider Raza and Alba Garcia Seco De Herrera, and Professor John Gan, Check4Cancer has sought to use AI to analyse exiting patient data and images of skin lesions to create innovative new ways to diagnosis people.

The team is working on creating a new smartphone app which will triage patients simply by asking them to submit photos of suspicious lesions and key information about themselves.