Inspirational Women Awards
A celebration of the inspiring women within the Discovery Park community and beyond.
Welcome to the inaugural Discovery Park Inspirational Women Awards!
As International Women’s Day approaches, we want to celebrate the contributions made by the extraordinary women within our community.
Discovery Park is home to, and works in close partnership with, numerous female tenants, partners, and stakeholders who play pivotal roles in driving progress and shaping the future.
These awards stand as a testament to our commitment to inclusion and diversity, and we believe their outstanding achievements, both in their professional careers and impact within the local community, should be acknowledged.
If you know an incredible woman making a significant difference, please take the opportunity to nominate her for one of our categories.
Please join us on the 8th March at our International Women’s Day event, where our inspirational women award winners will be announced.
Visionary Leader Award
Rising Star Award
Community Champion Award
Discovery Park Ambassador Award
Nominate now
Visionary Leader
The Visionary Leader category shines a light on a woman of seniority, either as CEO or in a Senior Management position. This award recognises her impactful leadership, someone who empowers and uplifts and inspires not just with words but with actions. It also recognises those successful in driving innovation, pushing boundaries, and fostering an environment for growth.
Rising Star
This award is recognition of a talented rising female who despite being in the early stages of her career, is making waves and shows promise and dedication. Through hard work, innovation, and passion, she's developing as a standout performer, is forging a promising journey ahead and is someone to watch closely in the future.
Community Champion
The Community Champion award celebrates a remarkable woman dedicated to making a positive impact either in our local community or on site at Discovery Park, whether it's through grassroots initiatives, sustainability efforts, or championing social events. An individual who goes above and beyond and demonstrates an unwavering commitment to help others, create positive change and bring people together.
Discovery Park Ambassador
This category recognises an exceptional woman who goes the extra mile in championing the success and elevating the profile of Discovery Park and its tenant community. This may be someone either based at the park or who works externally in partnership with us. The award celebrates an individual who embodies the spirit of collaboration and support, whether that’s fostering connections, providing valuable insights, or actively engaging in initiatives.
Nominations close on 20th February 2024
Meet the judges
Sylvia Stevenson
Sylvia is a Certified Diversity Practitioner and Consultant at Absolute Diversity. She has over 20 years’ experience leading large scale Cultural Change and Transformation programmes having worked in diverse industries both on a global and local scale in the private and public sectors. Her experience is underpinned by expertise as a qualified HR Professional, an accomplished Coach and Mentor and Certified Diversity Executive. She is passionate about all things that enable Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in the workplace, the NHS, and local communities. She specialises in developing and implementing strategies that deliver key improvements, such as the inclusion of women in technology or senior leadership roles; narrowing the inequality gaps which exists for career progression in underrepresented ethnic minority groups; and enhancing the focus on menopause, mental health & wellbeing.
Renos Savva
Renos is the Head of Innovation at Discovery Park. His role is to identify, support, and empower entrepreneurial scientists to thrive at the Discovery Park site and work with our partners to develop and deliver joint initiatives. Renos is a widely regarded Bio-business programme director and mentor with a distinguished background. He excelled as an entrepreneur, co-founding Domainex, a company that received recognition from the Financial Times in 2018 as the 'fastest-growing drug discovery CRO in Europe and is now passionate about helping early-stage companies commercialise their research and succeed.
Rebecca Smith
Rebecca is the CEO of Social Enterprise Kent and is an experienced senior manager working with a wide range of voluntary, community & social enterprise organisations (VCSEs), local authorities and funding partners to implement and deliver a diverse range of successful projects to support individuals and business in our communities across Kent. With a MA in HR Business Partnership, a postgraduate diploma in management, and an adult teaching qualification, Rebecca loves upskilling social enterprises and charities to help them grow and develop. Rebecca represents Kent based VCSEs on the national Social Enterprise Places committee, and the South East LEP social enterprise, digital skills and skills advisory subgroups. Rebecca is passionate about social enterprise, communities and empowering people and is proud of helping make a difference in people’s lives.
Andrew Pledger
Andrew is the Ecosystem Manager at Barclays Eagle Labs, based at Discovery Park. As part of his role, Andrew is deeply embedded in extensive networks of investors, entrepreneurs, and specialists and is committed to empowering individuals and businesses to thrive, providing valuable support and resources. He plays a pivotal role in helping our tenants expand their professional networks and offers advice on growth programs, investor connectivity, and business strategy. With a keen understanding of the dynamic business landscape, Andrew creates an environment where entrepreneurs can flourish and achieve their goals.