The IChemE Young Engineer Awards for Innovation and Sustainability will recognise and celebrate the ideas and innovation emerging in the chemical engineering profession, supporting the IChemE’s vision of engineering a more sustainable world.

YEAIS is open to IChemE members across the globe aged 18–30 who are studying or working in chemical, process or biochemical engineering.
Entrants can submit under one of seven priority topics:

• Digitalisation, AI and Automation – artificial intelligence applications, automation, process management and control, and computer-aided process design.
• Energy and Climate Action – clean energy, energy transition, carbon reduction, nuclear, hydrogen, and renewables.
• Engineering Biology and Biotechnology – biochemical engineering, bio-based processes, synthetic biology, biomaterials, and fermentation.
• Food, Health and Wellbeing – food and drink, health, wellbeing, pharmaceuticals, nutrition, beauty, and similar fields.
  
• Responsible Consumption and Production – mining and minerals, particle technology, catalysis and reaction engineering, fluid mixing and fluid separations.
  
• Sustainable Systems and Circular Economy – sustainability, environmental protection, waste valorisation, clean technology and the circular economy.
  
• Water and Sanitation – clean water access, wastewater treatment, water management, sanitation and water resilience.
  

Your entry will be based on either a new area of research/design/innovation, or a new application of a process or product.

The prize is independent of the IChemE Global Awards, although winners will be recognised as part of the awards ceremony.

If you are interested in sponsoring this event or any future events please do get in contact via yeais@icheme.org.

For more information please email yeais@icheme.org.

• Undergraduate or equivalent – members studying full time for their first degree or undertaking an apprenticeship or related qualification
• Postgraduate or equivalent – members studying for a Masters qualification, PhD or other postgraduate qualification
• Early career – members working in a chemical, process or biochemical engineering field.

There are additional topic awards and the winner will be selected from any age category.

Yes, you can certainly have members of mixed ages as part of a group entry. We ask you to select the category according to the oldest member in the group. For example, if you have PhD, masters and undergraduate students in your group; it will fall under the Postgraduate category.

These awards are open to all members aged 18–30 regardless of geographic location.

All entrants must be aged 18–30 at the point of submission and current members of IChemE. 

Yes. A maximum of five people per group who ideally (*) must all be in the same category**. All members of the group must be members of IChemE.

Yes. Submissions from non members will not be judged. Join IChemE today.

Using Oxford Abstracts. Please note that you will need to register for an Oxford Abstracts account if you do not have one already. Please visit our YEAIS and How to Enter page.

Scoring for round one

Each entry will be judged against seven criteria:

1. How does this concept evidence the support for the delivery of one or more Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Has the entrant clearly demonstrated how a chemical, process or biochemical engineering concept can support the delivery of one of the global SDGs or relates to the IChemE priority topics?
2. Is it feasible? Can their idea be delivered in practice? Has the entrant introduced a workable prototype or taken steps to ensure their solution is workable. Have they demonstrated a specific technology-readiness level?
3. Application of chemical engineering principles: Have they demonstrated an understanding and application of chemical engineering principles (e.g. chemical processes, thermodynamics, mass and energy balances, process design etc)?
4. How will society benefit?: Has the entrant clearly demonstrated the benefit to society in a qualitative or quantitative manner?
5. Is the idea innovative?: What aspect of the idea is novel or new?
6. What challenges can they see?: What challenges can they see that will affect the ability to deliver their idea into practice?
7. How effectively does the poster communicate technical information?: How visually engaging and accessible is the information presented on the poster? How clearly has the entrant communicated the project’s key aims?

Scoring for round two

Finalists will be asked to submit a five-minute video presentation to explain their project in more detail. This will be judged against three criteria:

1. How does this concept evidence the support for the delivery of one or more Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)? Have they explained how in practice it will be delivered?
2. Has the entrant clearly explained how their work will benefit society in the short, medium or longer term? Has the entrant clearly demonstrated the benefit to society and explained how it will be delivered in practice?
3. How effectively does the entrant communicate technical information? – How did they present? Could you follow their narrative? Were they enthusiastic and clear about what they were trying to do. Did they use props and engage you as the reviewer?  Did they clearly set out the aims of their project? 
   
   

We recommend letting the relevant people know before you submit your entry, such as your lecturer, supervisor, line manager, colleagues, or employer. This is particularly important if your submission includes any intellectual property, commercially sensitive information, or work carried out as part of your studies or employment. They may also be able to offer support or guidance with your entry.

Your entry can be based on either your own research that you have completed at any stage of your studies/career OR your own ideas of how current practices can be developed for new applications.

It is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure that they are not submitting commercially sensitive information.

No, you can submit work completed for any other competition or award to this prize as long as your work is repurposed into the required template. You would then need to contact the organisers of other awards to see if the reverse is true. Work is underway to align other prizes to the YEAIS awards.

Further details about the Q&A sessions will be shared soon. Please check our LinkedIn and What’s On events page regularly for updates

There are no financial prizes being offered. Winning entrants will receive a:

• trophy and certificate to recognise their achievement
• feature article in The Chemical Engineer
• digital badge so they can invite others to share in the success and celebrate with them on social media.

Finalists will be notified on Tuesday 4 May 2027.

Finalists and winners will be notified on Monday 7 June 2027.

Not necessarily – please refer to the Terms & Conditions.

Yes, in-person showcase and celebration events will take place, giving winners, highly commended entrants and finalists the opportunity to present their work, build new connections and network with fellow entrants, IChemE members, and representatives from industry and academia.

• London, UK – June 2027 (location and date to be confirmed)
• Malaysia – (location and date to be confirmed)
• Australia – (location and date to be confirmed)

IChemE member volunteers will dedicate their time and expertise to help with the judging and celebration event. They will rigorously assess all entries against the set criteria.

• For undergraduates attending an in-person event, a maximum bursary of £200 sterling (in UK only) will be paid upon submission of a member expense form and supporting receipts.
• For postgraduate students and early career members attending an in-person event, a maximum bursary of £100 sterling (in UK only) will be paid upon submission of a member expense form and supporting receipts.

• Reasonable travel, accommodation and subsistence expenses may be claimed in line with the expenses policy, which will be provided to invited attendees. All claims must be supported by valid receipts. If you are paying by contactless card, please ensure you ask for a VAT receipt at the time of payment, as expenses cannot be reimbursed without a valid receipt.
• Accommodation may be claimed for the night before the event if it is not possible to travel and arrive in time for the event to start. As the event finishes at 16:00, claims for accommodation AFTER the event are unlikely to be approved. Meals and subsistence AFTER the event will not be reimbursed.
• Where entrants are attending as a group, sharing travel or accommodation may be more cost effective. However, the person who made the booking must submit the expense claim themselves. The claim must include the names of everyone sharing the travel or accommodation.
• If you are unsure whether an expense is eligible, please check in advance before making the booking or submitting a claim at yeais@icheme.org.

No, but we have curated a list of local accommodation that you may wish to book. Please email yeais@icheme.org to request this.