Meet the winners
Awards include UK Young Engineer of the Year, supported by Thales, UK Young Technologist of the Year, supported by Siemens and Young Scientist of the Year.
Today we’re excited to announce the winners of The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Competition. Held at The Big Bang Fair, the spectacular awards ceremony followed a day-long showcase of talented young innovators.
The Big Bang Competition is a prestigious national competition for young engineers, scientists and technologists aged 11 to 18. There are a range of awards and prizes up for grabs, recognising and rewarding talented STEM innovators. The top 3 winners each receiving £1,000 prize money.
UK Young Engineer of the Year 2026
Kanav Jain, a student from Broxburn, Scotland has been crowned UK Young Engineer of the Year, supported by Thales, for his project ‘AeroAid: autonomous VTOL quadplane’. Kanav is currently in S4 and entered via a community group – First Step Robotics.
Kanav was inspired to help people in rural and remote regions where the delivery of essential emergency supplies is challenging due to lack of reliable road access. Using his passion for drones, he has designed and developed a small, low-cost autonomous aircraft that can carry and deliver medicines and other essential supplies quickly and efficiently. Kanav hopes his low-cost, accessible invention will help provide critical humanitarian support and save millions of lives.
James Mackay, Head of STEM, UK at Thales commented: "Congratulations to The Big Bang UK Young Engineer of the Year. We were delighted to see the creativity and impressive STEM skills from all the finalists. Kanav’s project really impressed the judges, along with his tenacity, dedication and drive.
“Supporting these future engineers is truly exciting for us at Thales. The Competition is a great reminder that the next big breakthrough could come from anyone. We need many more young people to pursue STEM careers. It’s been great to see so many students thinking about how they can innovate and create real-world solutions with engineering.”
UK Young Technologists of the Year 2026
Daniel Brownlee and Luke Johnston, year 11 students from Cookstown High School in Northern Ireland, are the UK Young Technologists of the Year, supported by Siemens, for their project ‘TrailTalk: AI-powered experience mapping’.
The talented team created an app to help travellers find experiences that match how they want to feel, instead of prioritising popularity and ratings as existing platforms do. The duo built TrailTalk using AI, voice input and GPS data to help people discover places that meet both their practical and emotional needs. They hope their invention will help travellers discover meaningful, authentic and personal places, while also promoting sustainable travel and benefitting communities not in typical tourist hotspots.
Mark Wood, Social Sustainability Lead at Siemens GB&I, commented: “Many congratulations to Luke and Daniel from TrailTalk, two very deserving winners. Their concept is commercially viable and offers a practical solution to an everyday need, with a strong focus on user-friendly design and clear technical capability demonstrated through the development of the app.
“Projects like TrailTalk highlight the imagination and talent that the next generation brings to STEM, boosted by new and developing technologies. Through initiatives such as The Big Bang Competition, young people are encouraged to channel their creativity into solving real-world challenges. And with individuals like Luke and Daniel leading the way, the future is in very capable hands.”
UK Young Scientists of the Year 2026
Jessica Dowdall, Lauren Dowdall, Martha Pugh and Meike Oakes, a team of year 7 students from Hexham Middle School in Northumberland have been crowned UK Young Scientists of the Year for their project ‘The plant perfectionists- how does different masses of biochar affect plant growth?’.
Passionate about climate action, the team wanted to explore different ways to grow plants and food. Through experimenting with adding biochar, a form of charcoal that locks carbon in soil, the team discovered a way to improve plant growth, while also reducing carbon emissions. They hope their findings will help farmers, food producers and gardeners to grow crops and food while locking away more carbon.
Dr Hilary Leevers, Chief Executive of EngineeringUK, said “Massive congratulations to Kanav, Luke, Daniel, Jessica, Lauren, Martha, Meike and all the winners and runners-up. Their curiosity and creativity have driven them to produce some brilliant STEM projects addressing some really big societal problems. They should all be very proud of their dedication and hard work. Competitions like The Big Bang Competition help young people connect their passions with making a real-world difference, it shows young people a future in engineering and technology is possible for them.”
As well as these top awards there were a host of category winners and runners-up announced at the ceremony. There were also 9 special awards supported by Accenture, ECITB, Energy Institute, Energy Systems Catapult, IHEEM, Intellectual Property Office (IPO), LIYSF, Network Raid and Stantec.
Supporting these future engineers is truly exciting for us at Thales. The Competition is a great reminder that the next big breakthrough could come from anyone. We need many more young people to pursue STEM careers. It’s been great to see so many students thinking about how they can innovate and create real-world solutions with engineering.
— James Mackay, Head of STEM, UK at Thales
Projects like TrailTalk highlight the imagination and talent that the next generation brings to STEM, boosted by new and developing technologies. Through initiatives such as The Big Bang Competition, young people are encouraged to channel their creativity into solving real-world challenges. And with individuals like Luke and Daniel leading the way, the future is in very capable hands.
— Mark Wood, Social Sustainability Lead at Siemens GB&I
Massive congratulations to Kanav, Luke, Daniel, Jessica, Lauren, Martha, Meike and all the winners and runners-up. Their curiosity and creativity have driven them to produce some brilliant STEM projects addressing some really big societal problems. They should all be very proud of their dedication and hard work.
— Dr Hilary Leevers, Chief Executive at EngineeringUK
