About the awards

The TechFest Awards recognise and rewards the projects, teams and companies doing the most to create innovative solutions and to harness technologies that drive the construction and civil engineering industry forward.

Taking place as part of our Festival of Innovation and Technology, this one-day event is a thought provoking gathering designed to stimulate the brightest minds in civil/ground engineering and construction and drive the adoption of technology.

The TechFest awards represents a unique opportunity to celebrate your successes within the civil/ground engineering and construction sector and gain recognition at a national level for your achievements celebrated across both Construction News and New Civil Engineer

ENTRY DEADLINE| 04 July

Why enter?


Be recognised by clients and the industry as leading the way in technology enabled solutions


Benefit from exposure to our independent judging panel make up of industry clients and leaders


Promote your business as a champion of technological innovation and be showcased in our shortlist throughout the festival


Raise the profile of your work across the industry and receive unprecedented coverage from Construction News and New Civil Engineer both online and in the magazines


Promote your firm as a truly great place to work and position yourself as an employer of choice leading the adoption of technology and innovation


Network with high-level tech professionals – celebrate the achievements of the profession with your peers


Key dates

Entry deadline
Shortlist announcement
Conference and awards

Judging process

The TechFest Awards 2025 will have a panel of judges representing leading clients and organisations in the civil engineering and construction industries who review entries to determine the shortlist and conduct live interview presentations, to select the winners for that category.

Each stage is designed to provide a fair and transparent process. Please note, that all categories other than those stated below will be judged on your written entry alone, so make sure you include as much supporting evidence as possible and make it clear in your entry why you should win.

Stage 1:   Online Judging – once the entry phase closes, the judges will review online and score each submission to determine the shortlist.

Stage 2:  Online presentations – successfully shortlisted entrants will be asked to present virtually to the judging panel to elaborate on their entries and answer questions from the panel.

As part of the programme for 2025, the following categories will be judged live during the conference ahead of the evening awards.

They are:

  • Innovation Accelerator
  • Best Use of Technology: Carbon Reduction in Construction
  • Best Use of Technology: Carbon Reduction in Design
  • Best Use of Technology: Design Efficiency
  • Best Use of Technology: Smart Data Collection for Asset Management
View our 2025 Judges

Innovation Accelerator

The Innovation Accelerator category celebrates the start-ups and SMEs that are driving transformative change in the construction and civil engineering sectors. We are looking for ambitious, fast-growing businesses developing technologies or innovations that have the potential to reshape the industry.

Shortlisted entries will have the exciting opportunity to present their innovations on the main conference stage at TechFest, gaining invaluable exposure. Plus, they'll receive a complimentary stand in the Innovation Alley—an exclusive space dedicated to showcasing the latest breakthroughs. If you're ready to disrupt the status quo, the Innovation Accelerator category is your platform to make an impact.

Hints & Tips

This is your chance to tell your story. All good stories have a structure so whether you are submitting entries for outstanding projects or as a trailblazing leader, remember to structure your entry along the following lines:

  • Beginning: How did your innovation come about, what challenges were you trying to overcome or when did you decide to embrace a change/technology?
  • Middle: What did you do to implement the innovation? Give examples demonstrating why you stand out
  • End: What were the results and what makes you or your project stand out?

To ensure that your submission is your best work, take a look at our hints and tips below before you start your entry:

  • Make a note of the deadline: you must submit your entry by 04 July so make sure you have this date in mind – write it in your diary or on your calendar, or set notifications on your phone to ensure you don't miss the chance to enter your excellent work
  • Preparation is key: now that you know the deadline, allow yourself plenty of time to write, develop and submit your entry – coming back to it with a fresh pair of eyes can help you remember important details that may make the difference between being shortlisted and just missing out
  • Make the judges' job easy: write in clear, plain English, avoid too much jargon and use bullet points where appropriate to break up the text
  • Pay attention to grammar and spelling: poorly presented entries lack credibility so don't lose out on being shortlisted on something you could have easily avoided
  • Involve the right people: if your work was a team effort, involve the other team members in developing the entry – you've got this far through teamwork so make it count
  • Back up your entry: take advantage of the option to include supporting information with your entry to help the judges understand the impact of your work
  • Proofread: ask someone else, such as a colleague, friend or manager, to look through your entry before you submit. It can be helpful to ask someone who was not directly involved in the work you are entering – like the judges they will not have detailed knowledge so they may suggest ways to clarify your entry

FAQs

Hopefully you'll find an answer to your question below. If not, please contact Kieran McDougall on 020 3953 2019 or email Kieran.McDougall@emap.com.

To view the criteria, create your account, or login with your email and password used to create your account if you have already done so. Select ‘Enter Now’ against the category you wish to view where the criteria will be displayed. If you wish to start your entry at this point any information you add will be autosaved and you can login to complete the rest of the entry at any time.

Enter the email address and password that you used when you first started your entry on the log in page, you will then be taken through to your dashboard and will be able to continue your entry.

You can enter another category by selecting the category you wish to enter from the ‘Categories’ section.

Please contact Kieran McDougall on 020 3953 2019 or email Kieran.McDougall@emap.com and they will be able to help you with your entry.

We request that each entry provides at least two images which support the entry and can be used online, in print, and on the night of the Awards to represent it. These images should be high resolution (strictly no smaller than 1mb in size) and in landscape orientation. If you are entering a product, the images should be of the product.

If you are submitting a team, the images should be of or represent the team. Similarly for a project. If you are entering your entire organisation it may be appropriate to represent a particular piece of work or project which is referenced in the entry. For individuals, a headshot image or image of you at work will suffice. If you’re struggling – try snapping a shot on any modern smartphone and sending the file to yourself by email – most modern smartphones will shoot photographs of a high enough quality for what we’re asking for.

Please note we are unable to accept logos as images, and prefer for logos not to be included in the photographs you submit. The images should be demonstrative of the entry and will always be presented alongside a caption listing the entrant organisation and (if applicable) project title.