Congratulations to the winners of the 2026 APM Education and Research Awards

The winners have been announced for the Association for Project Management (APM) Education and Research Awards, which took place at the APM Project Management Conference Networking dinner on 29 April 2026.

The Education and Research Awards recognise and celebrate achievement in the early careers and academic area of the project profession. With a wide range of categories, the Awards showcase the best new talent, acknowledge the contribution of academics and recognise excellence in research outputs. The winners of the 2026 APM Education and Research Awards were:

Project Apprentice of the Year: Gemma Hutchinson - Severn Trent/Northumbria
University

Gemma (pictured, below) stood out as an apprentice who is already delivering impact at Project Manager level, consistently embodying the values of care, courage, pride and curiosity through her role within the Nectar project. The other finalists were Tom Bushnell (NATS/QA), Ben Anderson (NATS/QA) and Oliver Musk (BAE Systems/University of Cumbria).

Project Graduate of the Year: Caitlin Quinn - Balfour Beatty

Caitlin’s genuine commitment to the profession and academic achievements, such as earning a First-class honours degree, completing a full industrial placement year, rapid progression within Balfour Beatty’s Graduate Scheme and continuing her studies gaining the APM Project Fundamentals Qualification, made her a worthy winner. The other finalists were James Perkins (University of South Wales) and Matthew Rothery (Sellafield).

Project Management Postgraduate Dissertation of the Year: Sarah Bowen, University of Sussex - Exploring the Impact of Leadership Styles on Value Creation within an Innovation and Project Management Context

Sarah’s dissertation explores the impact of leadership styles on value creation within an innovation and project management context. Using interviews and a case study, it proposes a systemic hypothesis connecting leadership styles with value creation and innovation categories. Judges commented that Sarah’s dissertation was beautifully articulated with an excellent standard of research methods, clearly set out hypothesis and research questions. The other finalist in this category was Ousman Mbye (Heriot-Watt University).

Project Management Doctorate of the Year: Carolina M. Zani, University College London - The dynamics of organisation design in megaprojects: A multi-dimensional capability approach

Carolina’s (pictured, below) substantial and well-grounded study addresses one of the most critical aspects of megaproject delivery: organisational design. Its contribution to both megaproject scholarship and public infrastructure practice is significant, offering insights that can inform senior decision makers and policymakers alike. Other finalists of this category were Tayyab Jamil (Birkbeck, University of London) and Joseph Watton (University of Leeds).

Research Paper of the Year: Juan Sandoval, Ilias Krystallis, David Whitmore & Martina Huemann , MIGSO-PCUBED, The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, University College London, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business - Managing strategic relationships in inter-organisational projects

This high quality and well evidenced research paper makes a significant contribution to both project management theory and practice. It is the first study to move beyond the traditional focus on trust and contracts, introducing a new dimension of knowledge that provides insights which have practical value, particularly for practitioners involved in managing and sustaining inter organisational relationships.

Xiangming (Tommy) Tao, Deniz Ucbasaran, University of Sussex Business School, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick - How does failure normalisation foster product innovativeness in new product development? The role of passion and learning, received an honourable mention.  

Developmental Programme of the Year - Network Rail Project Management Graduate Scheme

Network Rail and Parallel Project Training (pictured, left) won this award in partnership. This graduate scheme offers a two-year, industry-leading development programme. A pioneering 15-week Project Management Development Programme is embedded within the scheme, integrating competency-based learning, the APM Project Management Qualification and real-world rail scenarios to increase project management capability development. Graduates gain practical experience through placements, industry-specific application modules, senior leader engagement and skills and industry awareness. The other finalist in this category was the Project Management Degree Apprenticeship from the University of Plymouth and Babcock International.

Societal Impact Award: Caitlin Quinn - Balfour Beatty

Through prison CV review workshops, establishing a Whitechapel Mission donation bank at her Canary Wharf head office and consistently giving back to early career Project Managers and wider initiatives, Caitlin (pictured, below) was a deserving winner who demonstrated genuine ambassadorial qualities and a commitment to society that’s remarkable at this early stage of her career. Carolina M. Zani received an honourable mention for the dynamics of organisation design in megaprojects: A multi-dimensional capability approach thesis.

Natalie Keppler, Volunteering Manager - Regional Networks for APM, said: "Education and research are so important because they help our profession continually push boundaries. The Education and Research Awards are a celebration of early careers and academia, which bring new knowledge and talent to our profession so that more projects can succeed. Congratulations to all our winners and finalists."

Find out more about the APM Education and Research Awards here.