Inform Prize Aberdeen 2026 Recap

On 23 September, Intelligent Plant hosted Inform Prize Aberdeen 2026 at Trinity Hall, bringing together student teams, judges, sponsors and supporters from across the north-east for a day of pitches, questions and ideas.

Delighted with the turn out for our event this year - thanks for attending!

The Inform Prize has run every year since 2014. It started at Aberdeen's universities and has grown into a wider programme, with a sister event in Glasgow run by VeryConnect and plans to expand to other cities and universities across Scotland. For the Intelligent Plant team, it's one of the highlights of the year.

The Day

Seven teams from the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University presented their projects to the judging panel and attendees. The projects covered a wide range of topics, from healthcare and historical records to 3D modelling of indoor spaces and making it simpler to buy second-hand goods. Despite a forecast of rain, the day turned out sunny, with light streaming through the windows of Trinity Hall.

Alongside a great turnout from academia and local businesses, we were really pleased to welcome a number of computing students from North East Scotland College, who came along to get a first-hand look at what competing involves. We hope to see college teams entering next year!

Before the presentations began, the hall was buzzing as attendees spoke to the teams about their projects. It was a great opportunity for networking and for the teams to practise pitching their ideas.

The cupcake and cookie stand was just as busy. And yes, they were delicious.

The Presentations

Karen O'Hanlon of ONE Digital Tech made her debut as this year's Inform Prize host and kept the programme running smoothly. She also shared the kinds of support Opportunity North East offers aspiring entrepreneurs, which may well include some of this year's competitors.

We were lucky to have Glen Cairns join us as guest speaker. Glen is a great example of someone who turned an idea and a passion into a business, and he is now the go-to person for photography and videography in Aberdeen. Although he admitted to being nervous about his first keynote, he spoke brilliantly and highlighted the importance of human authenticity in an increasingly AI-focused world.

We were delighted to have Glen along as this year's guest speaker

This year's judging panel brought together a mix of investment, technology, business support and industry experience:

• Carolyn Diack, ONE Digital Tech

• Mark Westwood, ABGi UK

• Bruce Skinner, Alto IT Support and Cybersecurity Services
  

We always look forward to seeing the marketing videos the students prepare. They often make us wonder whether some of them should consider a career in comedy, and the humour is always welcome! When it came to the judges' questions, the teams answered with real confidence, which is no small feat in front of a full room with all eyes on you.

The quality of this year's entries must have made the judges' job a difficult one, but they settled on a winner for each prize category.

The Winners

🏆 Inform Prize: Team Delta, Claro

A digital health toolkit for women with gestational diabetes, built around a scalable course catalogue.

Eleonora Emilija Kovina, Ellen Hughes, Harry Beaton, Connor Mackenzie, Anujan Perrine, Ian Brown

🏆 Enhance Prize: Team Lima, ARO Corpus

A new "Search Aberdeen Registers" website for the ARO Corpus, a collection of Aberdeen records from 1398 to 1511.

Alexandra Crichton, Audrey Stark, James Good, Niamh Isla Murphy, Max Jamieson, Rozaliya Markova

🏆 Grow Prize: StorageBuddy

A peer-to-peer app connecting UK students with cheaper storage. It's community-driven with zero host fees, so hosts keep all of their earnings.

Mitalee Suchak, Fariha Ibnat

Carolyn Diack and Karen O'Hanlon from ONE Digital Tech with our Winners of 2026

Thanks to Offshore Energies UK, the winning teams were also invited to present at the OEUK Data and Digital Conference, a fantastic opportunity to share their work with the energy industry.

Thank You

The Inform Prize depends on the organisations that back it. Our thanks go to:

• ONE Digital Tech: sponsor, host and judge, with thanks also to Jen Scott, Jenny Stanning and Audrey Sheal for their input throughout the planning.

• University of Aberdeen: sponsor, with support from across the university.

• Serica Energy: back as a sponsor this year.

• ABGi UK and Alto: for judging and supporting the teams.

• Barclays Eagle Labs: for supporting the event, and Nick Bansal for joining us on the day.

• Offshore Energies UK: Laure Mora and Afsana Begum, for the conference opportunity.

• Robert Gordon University: for its continued support, and Ross McLean in particular.

• North East Scotland College: for bringing so many students along.

• Ewan Kirkpatrick: for organising the event space and being on hand all day.

Most of all, thank you to every team who took part. We'd love to keep up with where you all go next.

More Photos and Videos

For more photos from the day, along with video interviews, visit intelligentplant.com/2026event.

Get Involved in 2027

If your organisation would like to sponsor, judge or support Inform Prize Aberdeen 2027, get in touch at informprize@intelligentplant.com.