INVENTORS and entrepreneurs are being given the chance to win a prize package worth £13,000 at this year's Venturefest in York.

The annual science and technology exhibition is returning in 2015 for its 12th year, and will once again be staging the Innovation Showcase.

Organised by Science City York and supported by The University of York, the showcase invites businesses across the region with innovative services and products to launch to demonstrate their ideas to more than a thousand delegates, with the most innovative product receiving a prize package worth around £13,000.

The competition is held in a bid to find Yorkshire’s most innovative firm by inviting them to demonstrate how they are pushing the boundaries in their field.

Previous showcase entrants include Leeds-based testing solutions and consulting firm The Test People, York 3D Printers and last year’s winners S3 ID, a safety solutions company from Rotherham, which uses tracking technology to keep staff safe in hazardous areas.

Chris Wilson, project manager for Venturefest Yorkshire, said: "Venturefest is a unique event that supports science, technology and IP generating businesses and entrepreneurs of all ages.

"The great thing about the event is that you don’t know what you’ll discover until you get here.

"We’ve already received some really exciting applications for this year’s Innovation Showcase and we can’t wait to unveil them and see who this year’s winner will be."

Venturefest Yorkshire takes place at York Racecourse on March 12.

As well as the Innovation Showcase the event will also once again be hosting the Investment Competition, with support from crowdfunding and co-investment platform GrowthFunders.

The competition gives applicants the chance to presenting to potential investors at the event, with finalists given a place on the GrowthFunders platform, which has a growing user base of more than 6,000 people throughout the UK and Europe who are actively seeking opportunities to invest in businesses with high growth potential.

The winner will received a prize package worth £50,000.

The closing date for both competitions is January 31. For more information and to apply visit www.venturefestyorkshire.net/competitions.