The Earl of Wessex met business leaders, entrepreneurs and apprentices at a virtual event highlighting how the county leads the way in global innovation.

At the event, hosted by the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Prince Edward discussed topics including quantum computing and how the county has led the global response in creating a Covid vaccine.

He met some of the leading representatives in the county’s world-leading life sciences sector, plus a key international figures from the creative industries sector.

And he also spoke to some of the leading apprentices and entrepreneurs, each inspired by businesses based in Oxfordshire.

The Earl was welcomed by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant Brian Buchan and OxLEP’s chair Jeremy Long and chief executive Nigel Tipple.

Mr Long said: “We were delighted to welcome the Earl to Oxfordshire – albeit virtually – and introduce him to the incredible talent behind the world-class innovation that exists in the county.

“Very few areas of the UK have the breadth and depth of assets, knowledge capability, skills and business capacity which makes Oxfordshire a leading location for investment, as well as having the genuine ability to attract the world’s most talented people.”

“We thank the Earl for his time and the opportunity to showcase to him just some of the extraordinary capabilities and the business drive in Oxfordshire, absolutely key to supporting a strong economic recovery from Covid-19.”

The visit comes almost two years after the launch of the Oxfordshire Local Industrial Strategy, an OxLEP-led strategy supported by more than 300 leaders from across business, academia and the county’s local authorities.

The strategy sets an ambition for Oxfordshire to be a top-three 'global innovation ecosystem' by 2040 and highlights the role emerging, transformative technologies will play, as well as why it is key to ensure businesses can continue to attract the best young talent.