One of the highlights of this year’s NIPA Conference earlier this week was announcing the winner of the NIPA Prize 2026.

The competition challenged postgraduate students to answer one of three thought-provoking questions, with the aim of engaging and recognising the next generation of infrastructure professionals. The standard of submissions was exceptionally high, making the judging process incredibly difficult.

Congratulations to our four shortlisted finalists:

1st Place: Lawrence Chase (University of West England) – Link to essay here: Lawrence Chase – NIPA Award 2026 Essay
2nd Place: Divya Rajeev  ( University of Dundee) – Link to essay here: NIPA Essay_Divya Rajeev
3rd Place: Weizhen Lu (University of Edinburgh) – Link to essay here: NIPA Essay Weizhen Lu
Commended Finalist: Daniel Dimmock (University of Sheffield) – Link to essay here: NIPA Essay Submission Daniel Dimmock

Each finalist presented their ideas to the judging panel in a 15-minute presentation, showcasing not only the quality of their research but also their passion for the future of infrastructure.

We were delighted to welcome Lawrence Chase to the conference earlier this week to announce him as this year’s winner and to hear his excellent presentation exploring how community benefits could be enhanced through microgrid energy generation.

Congratulations to Lawrence and the three other finalists, and thank you to everyone who entered the competition. The quality of the ideas on display was a great reminder of the talent coming through the profession and a helpful prompt for NIPA’s future activities, and we’re excited to see what the future holds.