Big Chip awards salute region’s digital leaders
THE winners of the 20th annual Big Chip Awards have been announced, celebrating excellence in digital and technology across the north.
Organised by digital and tech trade association Manchester Digital, the awards saw businesses, individuals and students celebrated across 21 categories.
More than 400 industry professionals and guests attended the event, hosted at Manchester’s Hilton Hotel. Winners included Co-op Food, who scooped three awards including the Anthony Wilson Award which was chosen by special guest judge Martha Lane-Fox, while Flow Creative won the new Best Creative Impact award.
To mark the 20th anniversary a one-off award was introduced, the Big Chip Pioneer Award, to highlight the outstanding contribution made by an individual to the north’s digital and tech industries over the last 20 years.
This award was won by Dave Carter, formerly the Head of the MDDA, who through his role in pioneering projects in Manchester from the late 1980s is credited with ensuring the city got an early start using on-line technology - a key factor in the development of its thriving digital and tech scene.
This year’s distinguished judging panel included design expert Malcolm Garrett – chair of the panel – the BBC’s Bill Thompson, Nikki Barton of British Airways, Thinking Digital’s Herb Kim, Jeni Tennison of Open Data Institute and special guest judge Martha Lane-Fox, all of whom praised this year’s particularly strong shortlist.
Chair of the Big Chip Steering Group, Shaun Fensom, said: “It’s great to have marked the 20th Big Chip with such an array of brilliant entries.
“We set out back then to show the north can deliver great quality digital and tech projects. Now we’re proving year after year that in fact some of the best work you can find anywhere is being done right here. Well done to all our winners.” The ceremony was supported by a range of organisations, including headline sponsor UKFast, BCS, Cisco and Bing. Lawrence Jones MBE, CEO of headline sponsor UKFast, added: “It’s been an honour to once again be part of Big Chip and help to recognise the very best in our industry – it’s an unmissable event in the awards calendar so we were proud to sponsor it for the fifth year.” Shaun Fensom