ITS UK’s annual Essay Competition, for early career professionals and students, is now open for entries – and has been rebranded ‘the Allan Prize’.

This year, ITS UK is working with Smart Applications Management (SAM) and the University of Plymouth to deliver the Competition, which is being relaunched as the Allan Prize, to honour the memory of SAM employee Duncan Allan, a transport data specialist, innovator and ISAM wizard, who passed away last year.

As with previous years, the Allan Prize aims to encourage emerging talent in the intelligent mobility sector by inviting young people to submit an essay, with a chance to win cash prizes, mentoring and recognition across the industry.

What can you win?

The competition will offer two prizes: one for the best essay by an early careers professional in the first five years of their career, including apprentices; and one for the best PhD, Masters or final year Undergraduate essay.

The two winners will win £750 each (up from £500 last year), as well as a one-to-one mentoring session with Dr Joanna White, Engineering Director at National Highways or Paul Campion, CEO of TRL, and their essay published on the ITS UK website and circulated to the membership. Plus, for the first time, four runners up will receive a prize of £250 each.

This year’s theme

The focus for this year’s competition is ITS UK’s theme for the year – ‘Transport 4.0: Integrated | Inclusive | Intelligent’. The theme reflects how transport is rapidly advancing as the economy is transformed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution – with data, AI and connectivity becoming key components of how we travel. Entrants are invited to focus on one of the three aspects – integration, inclusivity and intelligence – in their essays.

How to enter

The Early Career’s Essay Competition is open for entries, until 00.01am Friday 27 March. 

Entries must be submitted via the form here. Should you have any issues accessing the form, or have queries about the competition, please email contact@its-uk.org.

Please ensure you read the full entry and judging criteria below before submitting – all available here.

With thanks to our Partner organisations