I would like to offer a warm welcome to you all on the occasion of the 28th Oxfordshire Business Awards. Oxford Brookes University is delighted to be hosting this prestigious event in the Oxfordshire calendar to celebrate business excellence across the county.

Many here this evening are friends of the University, so I extend a special greeting to our alumni and partner organisations. We also look forward to establishing new connections with those we are meeting for the first time.

I'm especially proud that we are able to sponsor one of tonight's awards, thanks to the management development programmes delivered by Oxford Brookes Business School. We have recently worked with over 350 local businesses to develop their leadership skills to enhance productivity and performance, and we are pleased to be able to celebrate these and other firms in the region with our award.

The evening’s celebrations are taking place in the Forum which is at the heart of the award-winning John Henry Brookes Building. At the University we are continually investing in our campuses. The Oxford Brookes Enterprise Centre on Headington Campus, funded jointly with the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, has formed a valuable hub for business start-ups since 2022, providing office and lab space together with expertise to support more than 15 start-up companies and spin-outs.

The University is currently building two cutting-edge, sustainable buildings on the Headington Hill site. Opening their doors in the 2024/25 academic year, these teaching and workshop buildings will be home to the Faculty of Technology, Design and Environment’s activity currently based at Wheatley Campus.

We are also harnessing new technologies. Backed by a £2.3 million government grant, in 2022 we installed a pioneering geothermal heating system on the Gipsy Lane site. This system has helped reduce our carbon footprint by 55% since 2010, a significant step towards delivering on our target of Net Zero carbon emissions by 2040.

I encourage you to pay a further visit to Oxford Brookes and our inspirational spaces after tonight’s celebrations.

Our Oxford Brookes Venues team have led the organisation of this event and I know they will endeavour to provide an exceptional experience for you all. In keeping with the Oxfordshire theme, tonight’s dinner will showcase the best of locally sourced produce.

My congratulations to all finalists and wishing you the very best of luck with the awards. To all of our guests, I hope you have a successful and memorable evening.

Professor Alistair Fitt
Vice-Chancellor, Oxford Brookes University
venues@brookes.ac.uk
www.brookesvenues.co.uk
linktr.ee/brookesvenues