Winners of the 21st Design and Technology Excellence Awards

Published 21st September 2021

This prestigious awards ceremony was held at The Institution of Engineering and Technology, Savoy Place, London on Friday 17th September 2021 hosted by the D&T Association and The Institution of Engineering and Technology. The Design and Technology Association’s Excellence Awards is open to our members and non-members across England and Wales. The awards give professional recognition to individuals nominated by their colleagues for their unique work in design and technology education across a number of categories.

This was the 21st Excellence Awards ceremony and it was presented by the D&T Association and Lesley Morris, Chair of the Design and Technology Association.

Typically, there are 12 categories however, this year there was an additional category: a special award recognising design and technology’s social impact. At the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic, D&T teachers across the UK contributed to the national shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). There was an outstanding contribution made during unprecedented times, and as the professional association representing the subject, we wanted to recognise and congratulate D&T departments across the country for their amazing contribution.    

We were delighted to host this awards ceremony in person following a virtual ceremony held last year due to restrictions imposed by the COVID 19 pandemic. This year as the restrictions eased and with the help and support of our partners at the IET, we were able to welcome winners not just from this year, but also those who won awards last year who were unable to attend in person. There continue to be many excellent examples of teaching and learning in D&T, and we are delighted to showcase the very best in these annual awards. We would like to thank everyone who nominated a colleague for this year’s awards and thank all winners for their hard work, dedication and high standards in what was the most testing of years - your work demonstrates just how important our subject is and what a positive impact it can have on young people’s development.

A special thank you to Sophie Harker, for captivating the audience with her inspirational keynote speech about her early motivation to pursue a career in Engineering.

We would also like to offer a huge thank you to all the organisations, partners and sponsors of the awards, including the IET for providing the venue. Without their help and continued support, the awards ceremony would not be possible. So many organisations recognise the importance of the subject and value the essential contribution design and technology education makes to young peoples’ lives. This event celebrates the brilliant work of talented and dedicated professionals in design and technology education and we do hope that all the winners and everyone who attended enjoyed the evening.

Click here for the award winners 

Watch the award highlights

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