Previsco collecting their award.

Members of the Previscio team.

University-founded companies win British Data Awards

Fast-scaling tech companies founded by Loughborough University researchers and an entrepreneurial graduate have been named winners at the 2021 British Data Awards in quality field that included FTSE 100 giants, tech unicorns, public sector bodies and not-for-profit organisations.

British Data Awards winner badge.

Previsico, an academic spinout launched in 2019, from world-leading environmental geography research, won Innovation of the Year in the overall awards.

Alcuris, founded in 2017 by Product Design Engineering graduate Alex Nash, won Healthcare Organisation of the Year in the sector-specific awards.

Both companies were launched at LUSEP, the University's Science and Enterprise Park, where they continue to grow at pace, creating 34 skilled jobs and raising £4.2M in under three years.

Alcuris aims to join up the fragmented data in health and social care, to provide game-changing preventative insight with its assistive technology system Connec+™ and MemoHub®. In April 2020 it was one of 18 companies selected from over 1,600 for Techforce19, a government / NHSx initiative to see how technology-led companies could support in the fight against COVID.

Alex Nash of AlcurisAlex Nash, founder of Alcuris. 

Partnering with 20 local authorities, Alcuris has demonstrated cost saving of £10 for every £1 spent, as well as offering far better-quality support to vulnerable and older individuals, as well as reassurance to their families. Alcuris also partners with the UK’s largest community equipment providers and is actively working with leading health and social care software providers.

Previsico aims to become the leading global provider of cutting-edge flood prediction, continuously improving its next generation flood forecasting with every flood event. It has translated over 20 years of data-led research to deliver the very latest third generation flood forecasting technology to those who need it most, through an intuitive cloud-based service that automatically alerts customers if they have an asset at risk.

Previsico has mapped the whole of the UK and the US east coast and is advancing in Asia and Africa. The research that underpins Previscio is also integrated into the UK Cabinet Office’s ResilienceDirect™ – a world first for an emergency planning system. In April this year, Previsico partnered with Zurich and one of its top UK customers in a market-first tripartite pilot across 5,000 UK locations.

Jason Johnson, Co-Founder of leading cyber security company Predatech and British Data Awards judge said: “I’d like to extend my congratulations to all our 2021 Winners. With 149 entries received this year, being named a Winner is a great achievement, and all organisations should feel immensely proud. I’m really excited to see what the next 12 months holds for our Winners.”

The 2021 judges include: Neil Carden, COO of Forth Point; Mahana Mansfield, Data Science Director at Deliveroo; Tej Parikh, Chief Economist at the Institute of Directors; Harriet Rees, Head of Data Science at Starling Bank and Dr Jo Watts, CEO and Founder of Effini.

Professor Claudia Eberlein, Loughborough University Dean of Science and Enterprise Lead commented: “It is excellent news to have two University-founded companies recognised in these prestigious national awards. Previsico and Alcuris are harnessing powerful data analytics to address global issues of preventing loss of life and livelihoods through flooding, and prolonging independent living for the elderly and vulnerable. Their continued success enriches the local economy and inspires further enterprise activity within the University’s academic and student communities.”  

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