The Student Poster Award
Our annual award giving students the chance to showcase their work to a wider audience
Home » Awards » The WES Awards » Student Poster
Open to
All students and apprentices
Established in
2025
Opens
30 October
About the Award
Elevate your engineering profile and showcase your hard work at the WES Student and Apprentice Poster Competition! As part of the WES Annual Conference we are giving you the opportunity to submit your work and be part of this fantastic event.
Why you should submit?
Elevate Your Career
The Ultimate Networking Opportunity: This is your chance for direct, face-to-face conversations with industry leaders and top academics.
A Stand-out CV: “Poster Competition Finalist” is a powerful addition to your LinkedIn profile. It proves you can take a project from concept to professional presentation.
Recognition: Gain the edge by showcasing your expertise to future employers.
Learn from senior members
Professional Development: Practice the vital skill of translating complex technical work for diverse audiences from fellow students to industry CEOs.
Attend an open online session with our judges to ask questions about your submission.
Exclusive Perks
Free Conference Access: All selected students receive complimentary attendance for one day of the conference.
Professional Printing on Us: We provide free professional printing for your poster which you get to keep
Eligibility Criteria
The WES Student & Apprentice Poster Competition is open to women studying engineering at a UK institution, including undergraduate, postgraduate and degree-apprenticeship students.
Entries are welcomed from both full-time and part-time students.
The competition forms part of WES's commitment to supporting and championing women in engineering.
Applicants who are unsure whether they meet the eligibility requirements, including questions relating to their course, institution, study mode or personal circumstances, are encouraged to contact WES (ceo@wes.org.uk) for guidance before submitting an entry.
WES reserves the right to request confirmation of student status and eligibility where required.
Submission requirements
Project Summary
Entrants must submit a project summary of no more than 300 words alongside their poster.
The project summary should help readers understand:
What the project, research or engineering work involved.
Why the work was undertaken and the challenge or opportunity it addressed.
What the student set out to achieve.
How the work was carried out.
The outcomes, findings, lessons learned or expected impact of the project.
Poster
Posters must be submitted using the official WES A1 poster template.
The template must include the WES branding and required competition information, while leaving the main content area flexible to allow students to showcase their work in their own style.
Posters should communicate engineering ideas clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Entrants are encouraged to use diagrams, images, data visualisations and concise explanations to help tell the story of their project.
Projects do not need to be research-based. Submissions may be drawn from academic, industrial, apprenticeship, design, manufacturing, sustainability, community or other engineering-related work. The focus is on communicating the significance and impact of the project to a broad audience.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
WES recognises that AI tools are increasingly used in education and the workplace. Entrants may use AI tools, provided that the submitted work remains their own and accurately reflects their personal contribution.
AI tools may be used for:
Improving grammar, spelling and readability.
Enhancing the clarity and structure of written content.
Generating illustrative images or diagrams, provided these are clearly identified as AI-generated.
AI tools must not be used to:
Fabricate or alter data, results, evidence or technical findings.
Generate false technical claims or project outcomes.
Misrepresent the entrant's own work, contribution, understanding or experience.
Any use of AI should be declared through a brief statement on the poster or in the project summary, for example:
"This submission includes AI-assisted text editing."
"Diagram 2 was generated using AI and has been clearly labelled."
Judges will assess the quality of the engineering work, the effectiveness of communication and the entrant's individual contribution.
The WES competition celebrates the diversity of experiences, perspectives and approaches within engineering. Judges will look for entries that reflect the student's own voice, creativity and insights. AI may be used as a supporting tool, but the competition is intended to reward authentic, individual contributions rather than standardised outputs.
Application process
STEP 1: Use the canva template and complete the poster. Download this prior to submitting as you will need to upload a copy to the submission.
Email comms@wes.org.uk if you are unable to access.
1.
Using the link below you need to submit an abstract of your work (maximum 300 words) and a copy of your poster using the template.
2.
Winners …..
3.
Recognition
Being selected as a finalist provides an opportunity to showcase your work to a national audience of engineers, industry leaders, academics and students at the WES Annual Conference.
Finalists will receive:
Complimentary one-day access to the WES Annual Conference.
Professional printing of their poster.
A WES Certificate of Achievement.
The opportunity to present their work during a dedicated poster session.
Recognition across WES communication channels, including LinkedIn.
A valuable addition to their CV, together with opportunities to network with engineering professionals.
In addition to the above, Competition winners will receive:
A £100 Amazon voucher.
An engineering-related book.
Winners and finalists will gain visibility within the engineering community and the opportunity to demonstrate their communication, technical and professional skills to a diverse audience.
Want to support a more inclusive engineering profession?
Join WES and connect with a network of women engineers driving a more inclusive future.