Anglia Ruskin wins two Lord Stafford Awards

Press release issued: 1 April 2009

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Peterborough air-cleansing company wins top innovation award

A Cambridgeshire firm which has developed a groundbreaking device to control smells, dust and disease has won a prestigious award for innovation.

Air Pollution Products and Systems (APPS), of Luddington, near Peterborough, scooped the innovation in sustainability prize at the final of the Lord Stafford Awards in the East of England on Tuesday 31 March. Launched in the West Midlands in 1997, the prestigious awards seek to encourage closer links between universities and business and was held in the East of England for the first time this year.

APPS, founded in 1999 and with a staff of 16, has pioneered environmentally-friendly odour, dust and bacteria control in a wide range of fields, including sewage works, chemical plants, farms and food processing factories. The firm, which also has outlets in Spain and Portugal, has devised a state-of-the-art atomiser for the Airborne 10 system.

Unlike a masking agent, Airborne 10 involves a technology which increases the absorbency of water half-a-million times, thus removing particulates, bacteria and gases to clean the air. The static and mobile machines, which have been likened to giant air-cleaners, can be purchased or hired by clients or used as part of on-going plant management agreements.

The new atomiser innovation, which improves the operational efficiency and range of the Airborne 10 system, has been developed after close links with Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford. A research project was launched following meetings between Airborne 10 inventor Jim Edgar, chairman of APPS, and the University's Professor Hassan Shirvani.

A technical breakthrough was achieved after company chiefs had become frustrated at design problems which had hitherto proved insurmountable. Central to the collaborative work has been on-the-spot Dr Ahmad Ramezanpour, a research fellow with the University's engineering analysis, simulation and tribology group (EAST).

Now, the future looks bright with orders for the systems being placed not only in the UK but overseas, particularly in the Middle East.

Vince Gosling, managing director of APPS, said:

"Winning this award is a tremendous boost for the company and the product as it means the work we have done with Anglia Ruskin University has been recognised.

"We have a product which, in a very competitive environment, is second to none in the world and, crucially, it has an extremely low carbon footprint."

Lord Stafford, Awards Patron and Chair of the Judges, said:

"APPS is a fantastic example of a company that has collaborated with a university to overcome a technical problem that threatened to hold up their progress.

"I know this device is already helping to overcome challenges with air pollution and shows that technology can be the solution to the environmental issues industries face and I would like to congratulate them for being worthy winners of the awards."

Cambridge dyslexia software scoops top innovation award

A groundbreaking computer programme developed in Cambridge which helps teachers understand the specific learning needs of dyslexic children has won a top innovation award.

Sancton Wood School in Cambridge has been working closely with Anglia Ruskin University to develop an easy-to-use computer software package which could revolutionise the way young people with reading difficulties are taught. And with conservative estimates suggesting that one in ten of the population has some form of dyslexia the potential for the product is vast.

The pioneering Learning Needs Profiler earned the School and the University a Lord Stafford Award for innovation at a glittering ceremony held on Tuesday 31 March. The prestigious awards - held in the East of England for the first time after great success in the West and East Midlands - aim to encourage closer links between universities and the business community.

Sancton Wood School, an independent school for 190 pupils aged three to 16, has a sister school, Holme Court, 20 miles away in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, teaching up to 40 dyslexic children. The Learning Needs Profiler (LNP) has been developed through close collaboration between Dr Daniel Sturdy, director of Sancton Wood School, and Professor Eamon Strain, head of the Psychology Department at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.

A key role in developing the project has been played by Angela Barry, researcher at the University, who has been seconded to the project for two years to help to bring it to fruition. The LNP seeks to overcome the 'one size fits all' approach to the teaching of dyslexic pupils by more accurately identifying the strengths and weaknesses of individual children, making teaching easier and better directed.

Angela Barry said:

"We are absolutely delighted to have been recognised for the efforts of working for the University to make this concept become a reality. We passionately believe that this software could have a far reaching effect on the lives of many young people. Effectively, teachers face two problems in tailoring teaching methods to individual children. Firstly, a diagnosis of dyslexia is so broad it does not clearly identify the specific problems encountered by an individual child. Secondly, having identified the specific problems, it is very difficult for teachers to obtain clear evidence concerning the effectiveness of the many available intervention treatments. Our product solves both of these problems, by providing a means of converting the complex information contained in an educational Psychologist's report into an easy-to-interpret learning support profile."

Lord Stafford, Patron of the Awards, said:

"I am delighted to present the Sancton Wood School and Anglia Ruskin University with this award at the debut of the awards in the East of England. This is a tremendous project that promises to have a major impact on the lives of many people and demonstrates the spirit of collaboration and innovation. Perhaps the most impressive element of this project is the way that a school and a university have worked together which is unusual and also that there is a 50-50 split in the Intellectual Property. This means that both the school and the university could earn a revenue stream from the commercial exploitation of what could well be a revolutionary teaching product."