Be Part of The National Innovation Challenge

National Innovation Challenge 2026 winners to be announced

The countdown is on!

After another exceptional year of student innovation, creativity and ambition from students across the UK, the National Innovation Challenge (NIC) 2026 winners will be announced live at 9.00pm this Thursday as part of the NIC Awards Evening.

This year's challenge explored the theme of Sustainability and AI, inspiring students to develop bold ideas, business concepts and design solutions to real-world challenges.

The NIC 2026 is sponsored by Platinum Sponsor, Amazon, as well as One Care IT and Didactic Services, who have supported the amazing and innovative talent emerging from schools, colleges and sixth forms throughout the UK and whose support makes events like this possible.

Our independent judging panel has completed the difficult task of selecting this year's winners from an outstanding field of submissions.

Watch our judges' film (below) to hear directly from the panel about what they were looking for and why innovation matters now more than ever.

Look out for the results this Thursday evening as we celebrate the UK's brightest young innovators and reveal the National Innovation Challenge 2026 winners, who will be heading to MIT, in the USA, and engage with world-leading researchers and innovators.

Taking a looking back

Yaseen Akhtar, Managing Director of the West London Institute of Technology, HRUC, said:

"The National Innovation Challenge offers an exceptional opportunity for young people. What started as a way for HRUC to inspire students is now a Challenge that reaches every corner of the UK and continues to grow. 

Now in its second year and sponsored by Amazon for the first time, the Challenge continues to help students consider how they can change the world. I can't wait to see what they come up with for next year."

Judging panel

Our independent judging panel for 2026 includes outstanding figures from across industry.

• Thiloshini Ellary-Bachu

  Thiloshini is a Regional Chief Engineer at AWS in London, with a background that combines electrical engineering, business, and hands-on industrial experience. After earning her undergraduate degree in electrical engineering, master's in engineering, and MBA, she spent over 15 years working across steel manufacturing, pharmaceutical production, and defence facilities management—including running operations at a naval dockyard for the Department of Defence.

  She joined AWS in Cape Town in December 2021, then moved to London 18 months later to lead their regional cluster. Her role involves developing strategy, building technical teams, and bridging the gap between engineering and business.

  Thiloshini is passionate about showing how technical expertise combined with leadership skills can open diverse career paths in today's technology-driven world.

• Sarwar Khan

  Sarwar Khan is the Sustainability Director at BT and for the last six years has been responsible for developing digital products, propositions and services that help business customers across the globe make the transition and turn sustainability into a competitive advantage.

  Prior to joining BT, he spent nearly 10 years working in the energy sector to help customers decarbonise, with experience in developing large scale renewables and smaller decentralised solutions.

  He holds an MSc in Renewable Energy from Loughborough University and an Executive MBA from Cranfield University. Sarwar is also a certified AI Governance Professional with the IAPP and his mission is to build a more equitable society.

• Pally Randhawa

  Pally Randhawa is an IT leader and entrepreneur with 27 years’ experience. He founded One Care iT Limited at the age of 24 and has spent the past two decades growing the business. He measures success by people and impact rather than company milestones. Pally is dedicated to mentoring the next generation—running a hands-on apprenticeship programme with HRUC that gives young people real-world IT experience and the life and workplace skills to thrive. He combines practical technical coaching with frank conversations about confidence, responsibility and career choices.

  Beyond the business, Pally is a Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce, where he keeps the Chamber’s strategy and vision on track, backs local businesses, and strengthens links between public and private sectors to support community growth. Known for a down-to-earth, approachable style, he advises organisations of all sizes—from FTSE100 firms to micro enterprises—focusing on the people behind each organisation.

  Recognised for apprenticeship excellence and innovation, Pally is proud of his work supporting charities and community initiatives. He is driven by a simple mission: help people and organisations succeed through practical technology, honest mentorship and steady, values-led leadership.

• Iqbal Vaza

  Iqbal Vaza is a dedicated advocate for the next generation, currently serving as Chief Executive of The Education Space. His career is driven by a single mission: ensuring the education ecosystem is robust enough to truly prepare children for the future.

  Leading an organisation that supports over 400 schools, Iqbal works at the heart of the UK’s learning community to remove the barriers that stand between young people and their potential. He is a specialist in digital transformation and "future-proofing" school environments, ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, has access to the tools and innovation they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

  As a judge for the National Innovation Challenge, Iqbal will be looking for young visionaries who are not only dreaming of a better world but are building the practical, scalable solutions to create it. He is passionate about empowering young innovators to turn their ideas into lasting social impact.

• Helen Walker

  Helen is passionate about education technology - its potential to transform learning and improve social equity.

  Helen's career spans teaching, advising, senior civil service and the edtech industry. She started out in schools and moved into policy, strategy, and delivery roles at the UK government’s first edtech agency then at Qualifications and Curriculum Authority leading on pedagogy and ICT.

  As CTO at the Department for Education, she led the department’s sector-facing digital services and internal tech, delivering a major cloud modernisation and digital transformation programme. More recently in commercial edtech, she has led Global Operations for RM plc and is now Vice President for UK and International Qualifications at Pearson plc.

• Steve Whittaker

  Steve Whittaker is Program Director in MIT’s Industrial Liaison Program and focuses on building sustainable relationships between MIT researchers and global industry.  He has a background in computer science and AI, coupled with very broad interests in emerging technologies and their impact on individuals, organizations, and society.

  Before joining MIT, Steve Whittaker spent almost 40 years in the telecommunications industry with a focus on R&D and strategy.  He was recognized as a BT Accomplished Engineer within BT’s AI, Service, Security and Operations Research Directorate and was awarded BT’s prestigious Alan Rudge Award for Innovation for work on advanced interactive speech systems. 

  From 2000 onwards, Steve was responsible for BT’s partnerships with US research universities and business schools - including their long-standing relationship with MIT. In addition to over ten years as a Visiting Scientist at the MIT Media Lab, Steve managed BT's collaborations, consortia memberships and informal partnerships across campus and the extended MIT ecosystem. He was responsible for a wide range of internal reports on topics such as AI, cyber conflict, future of work, platform strategies and future skills. He supported both BT’s network of global labs, regularly taught as part of BT’s executive MBA course at Tsinghua University and developed a range of unique C-level customer engagement programs.

  Prior to relocating to the US, Steve held various research, research management, strategy and business development roles at BT's UK based research labs.

The shortlist and finalists

• Shortlisted and Finalists

  In addition to internal students studying at HRUC, this initiative was expanded nationally to include external schools, colleges and sixth forms, ensuring an inclusive opportunity for all participants. See the full list of those who were shortlisted and our extraordinary finalists below.

  We received submissions from across the UK and the entries advancing to the next round are as follows:

  Colleges and Sixth Form Category

  • Bridgend College | Modular Hydro Vein - FINALIST
  • Bridgend College | Janus
  • Aylesbury Grammar School | Sand Sweeper
  • Shoeburyness High School - Sixth Form (Southend-on-Sea) | EcoSense Bench
  • Our Lady & St Patrick College (Belfast) | Vaccine Loop - FINALIST
  • Richmond upon Thames College | AI Waste 
  • Harrow College | EcoPaper 
  • Harrow College | NeuroLinguistic Interface 
  • Uxbridge College | Bio Loop AI 
  • Uxbridge College | Epione 
  • Uxbridge College | Road-IQ - FINALIST 
  • Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg - Bro Edern (Cardiff) | Heat Harvest
  • Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg - Bro Edern (Cardiff) | Smart Sort - FINALIST

  
  Secondary Schools Category

  • St Bede's Catholic High School (Ormskirk) | The DuoPod Pump - FINALIST
  • St Modan’s High School (Stirling) | Improve Energy Efficiency - FINALIST
  • The Sydney Russell School | Cleara - FINALIST
  • Torquay Academy | SMART FINS
  • Torquay Academy | One Step at a Time App
  • Torquay Academy | Edible Food Packaging
  • The Richmond upon Thames School | Air Purifiers
  • Plantsbrook School (Birmingham) | Reusable Battery
  • WAID Academy | Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • WAID Academy | Synthetic Tree - FINALIST

Further information

Bookmark this page to keep up to date with all competition details.  

Details are subject to change.

Students from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are eligible to enter this competition.

The judges’ decisions are final, and no additional correspondence will be entered into once the winners have been announced for each category.

Due to the anticipated volume of entries individual feedback will not be supplied, unless your entry has been shortlisted.