Nominations are now open for this year’s AFBE-UK Gala and Awards. 

AFBE-UK supports all young people, particularly those from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds, with career aspirations in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics).

The AFBE-UK Awards aim to celebrate the growing diversity of engineering landscape and recognise the exceptional contribution that companies and individuals make to the industry.

Entries are open to all individuals and UK-registered companies within the engineering and energy sectors. The closing date for nominations is Friday, June 30.

The finalists will be announced in September and the award winners will be revealed at the AFBE-UK event which takes place on Thursday, November 23 at the P&J Live, Aberdeen.

The categories available for nominations include STEM Champion of the Year, Young BME professional of the Year, Mentor of the Year, BME Leader of the Year and Company of the Year. There is also a Special Appreciation award which will be announced on the night.

Dr Ollie Folayan MBE (pictured above), co-chair of AFBE-UK Scotland, said: “We are thrilled to be running the AFBE-UK awards again. Bringing a unique level of recognition in front of industry peers, the awards provide companies and individuals with a springboard for growth, as well as inspiring the next generation and the industry to keep evolving.”

The principal sponsor of the awards is BP and the platinum sponsor is the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 team. Other sponsors include Wood plc; The Royal Air Force (RAF); Royal Academy of Engineering; Harbour Energy; Shell; Serica Energy; Leonardo; Petrofac; SSE; RS; Spirit Energy; ARUP and EnQuest.

Dushyant Sharma, Vice-President Transformation at BP, said: “BP is very proud and honoured to be principal sponsors for the annual Gala and Awards. Nothing gives BP more pleasure than seeing great diverse talent being recognised for their invaluable contributions and achievements, across the industry. We look forward to seeing you there!”

Paul Mills, Chief People Officer, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, said: “We are proud to be supporting the AFBE-UK Gala and Awards. As one of our Accelerate 25 programme partners, we have enjoyed learning from AFBE-UK during our collaboration to build awareness and access to future engineering roles. In addition to celebrating ethnic diversity, we look forward to meeting some great engineers and sharing experiences and learning with many other organisations as a part of this process.”

AFBE-UK has gone from strength to strength in recent months and has appointed two co-chairs to cope with its increased growth. Dr Roy Bitrus has recently joined Ollie Folayan as co-chair of AFBE-UK Scotland while Dr Awai Collins-Harrison has joined Dr Nike Folayan MBE as co-chair of London-based AFBE-UK.

Tickets for the event start at £70 for AFBE-UK student members, £100 for professional members and £120 for non-members.