Nominations have opened for The SPARKies, the coveted awards showcasing the best of the West of England’s tech sector.
The awards, now in their seventh year, recognise the businesses and individuals who make Bath, Bristol and surroundings a tech powerhouse and shine a light on their amazing wealth of tech and creative talent. 
Nominations for the 16 categories have increased steadily over recent years and organisers are hoping for another record year. Attendances at the awards ceremony have also risen – last year’s event at Bristol’s Motion nightclub brought together more than 300 of the region’s tech and digital community.
As the ceremonies alternate on an annual basis between the two cities, this year’s will be back in Bath on June 27.
Established Bath tech businesses, start-ups, scale-ups and individuals have fared well over recent years at the SPARKies.
Last year Storm Consultancy, which works with clients such as the University of Bath, media group Future and health and care group Sirona, won the Best Digital Design award while the best mentor or advisor category went to Mike Oram of Mayden Academy, which specialises in fast-track software developer training programmes.
The FutureSPARK award went to Georgia Stewart of pioneering Bath-based fintech start-up Hedge, which has developed a sustainable savings, investing and engagement app.
The award goes to the person aged under 25 who has already demonstrated true commitment and initiative within the tech and digital community and who the judges believe will go far in the tech industry.
Other categories are Founder/Entrepreneur of the Year, Best Cyber Company, Data Data Data, Most Exemplary use of Virtual or Mixed Reality, The Hardware Award, The ‘Good’ Award – which covers green tech, sustainable tech and hardware for assisted living – Most Innovative Use of Tech, Lifetime Achievement, The ‘Totally Killing It’ Award, Best Start-up, Best Scale-up, Best Place to Work in Tech, and The People’s Choice – the winner of which will be chosen by the SPARKies audience on the night.
The SPARKies are staged by TechSPARK, the information hub for all things tech in Bristol, Bath and the West of England.
