Reading's Madejski Stadium

Yesterday I had the pleasure and privilege of helping in the judging for the 2009 BCS and Computing UK IT Industry Awards.

The Royal Berkshire Conference Centre with its meeting rooms overlooking the Madejksi Stadium certainly helped make it feel like a very special occasion.

Studying the written submissions beforehand is one thing, but nothing beats meeting the competing teams face to face and hearing them talk so enthusiastically and knowledgeably about their entries.

In many cases we were talking to the actual developers and/or the people who had founded companies to bring their ideas to market.

Inspiring to see so much innovation: young, and some not-so-young, UK companies with world-leading products thriving and hiring during  what is supposed to be a recession.

I wish we could have given them all a prize.

It was only by rigorous adherence to the provided marking scheme that a winner emerged.