The Awards were established in 2005 by Oxford Innovation in honour of Sir Martin and Lady (Audrey) Wood, who co-founded Oxford Instruments plc and continue to support start-up and growing companies in Oxfordshire and beyond.
Sir Martin and Lady (Audrey) Wood grew Oxford Instruments from a start-up company in 1959, often acknowledged as Oxford University’s first spin-out company, into a global instrumentation business employing over 1,200 people with a turnover of £156 million.
The 2009 Awards promise to be the most successful yet, having already held two successful Awards evenings to date, we have used the feedback and experience from previous years to develop a new format, new business categories and bigger and better prizes for the winners.
This year’s Awards are supported by Science Oxford (the public face of The Oxford Trust), who have encouraged the pursuit of science and enterprise since 1985.