Hoare Lea and HTA Design's Serra Ardor take top prizes at CIBSE Young Engineers Awards 2026

Hoare Lea was named overall Employer of the Year and Serra Ardor of HTA Design won Graduate of the Year at the CIBSE Young Engineers Awards 2026 at 30 Euston Square in London on 8 October.

CIBSE said the awards, now in their 31st year, recognised winners in four categories: CIBSE ASHRAE Graduate of the Year, Employer of the Year, Apprentice of the Year and Undergraduate of the Year. Daikin was headline sponsor.

Daikin said on the awards page that it was proud to be headline sponsor of the 2026 awards, supporting the next generation of industry talent.

CIBSE said demand for new engineering talent continues to intensify, and that the awards highlight the organisations supporting the development of early-career engineers.

Graduate of the Year

The Graduate of the Year winner was announced at the ceremony after the finalists presented to the judging panel in front of a live audience. This year's finalists were asked how building services engineers should evolve to actively shape AI's impact on ensuring a truly sustainable future.

Serra Ardor, from UCL and HTA Design, took the title. CIBSE's winners page describes her as a Junior Building Physics & Sustainability Consultant at HTA Design. The winner receives a trip to the ASHRAE Conference 2027, according to CIBSE.

Sasha Green of UCL and FairHeat was runner-up. CIBSE said she joined FairHeat as a Graduate Engineer in 2024 after completing a master's in chemical engineering at UCL. The CIBSE announcement listed Sebastian Taylor Aguilar of LSBU/RED Engineering Design as second runner-up.

Employer of the Year

Employer of the Year is judged in four awards: small, medium and large company, plus an overall winner. Hoare Lea won both the large category and the overall title. SI Sealy & Associates Limited won the small category and Atelier Ten the medium category.

CIBSE's winners page says Hoare Lea employs 812 building services engineers, with almost 200 people on approved training schemes. The firm's own website says it was founded by Henry Lea in 1862. S I Sealy & Associates is a specialist building services engineering design consultancy formed 77 years ago, according to CIBSE.

The overall winner gains use of the CIBSE Employer of the Year logo and category winners receive a certificate, CIBSE said. The category was sponsored by CIBSE Patrons, which CIBSE describes as a network of businesses giving financial, technical and moral backing to its initiatives.

Last year the overall Employer of the Year was Hilson Moran, with AECOM taking the large category, according to CIBSE's 2025 announcement.

Apprentices and undergraduates

Nadia Husen, a building services engineering apprentice at Hawden-MEP, won Apprentice of the Year at Level 3-4, ahead of Austin Riches of DPL Group and Bekim Fejzullai of Cundall.

At Level 5-7, Melissa Riggs EngTech LCIBSE of Troup Bywaters + Anders LLP took first place, ahead of Harvey Dean of Arup and Ieuan Newton of Stantec. CIBSE said Riggs has four years' experience in the building services industry. Troup Bywaters + Anders was also the sponsor of the Apprentice of the Year category.

George Stephens-Clark of the University of Portsmouth won Undergraduate of the Year. CIBSE's winners page says he is an undergraduate BEMS engineer at InTandem Systems. Jamison Boll was second and Precious Fabamifobee of the University of Nottingham third. The 2025 undergraduate winner was Ritika Maladkar, also of the University of Nottingham.

Judges, sponsors and partners

The 2026 judging panel was chaired by Adrian Catchpole, CIBSE Past President and Chairman of Johns Slater and Haward Consulting Engineers.

Georg Fischer sponsored the Undergraduate category, Swegon the Graduate category and Soler & Palau the drinks and hospitality. The Building Controls Industry Association and the Building Engineering Services Association were the 2026 partners.

The 2025 awards marked the event's 30th anniversary, when Hannah Gray of the University of Edinburgh and Foster + Partners was Graduate of the Year.

Entries for the 2027 Young Engineers Awards open in spring 2027, CIBSE said.