IAC ANNUAL Student Paper Competition
Every year, the IAF run an annual international competition.
The UK selection of two entrants for the international finals at the IAC is carried out by the British Interplanetary Society (BIS) Space Education and Outreach Committee in joint partnership with the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) Satellite Technical Network.
The UK selection process extends until after the main IAC abstract submission activity to allow students to make as much progress as possible on their project work before our selection takes place.
The annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC) is the world’s largest astronautics/space engineering conference, organised by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).
As part of each IAC, there is a student paper competition (the E2.1 Student Conference) with prizes for best papers/presentation. Papers may be on any subject related to space sciences, industry or technology and must be the work of the author(s) (no more than two students).
There are two categories: a) Undergraduate b) Postgraduate.
For both categories, there is an age limit – entrants must have been no more that 28 years old on 1 January 2026 (this is a rule imposed by the IAF not by the BIS).
Please click on the title or + button to reveal extra information for the section below.
2. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to present to a BIS judging panel.
3. Two finalists (one undergraduate and one postgraduate, where possible) will be selected to receive the BIS travel awards and proceed to the international competition to represent the United Kingdom.
PRIZE:
- £500 travel support for each of the two UK finalists
- The opportunity to present your research on a global stage
- A chance to meet and network with leading figures in the international space community
Open to United Kingdom-based undergraduate or postgraduate students with papers accepted by the IAF technical programme.
- Entry is in two categories: a) Undergraduate b) Postgraduate.
- For both categories, an age limit applies: Entrants must have been no more than 28 years old on 1 January 2026 (this is a rule imposed by the IAF not by the BIS).
- Entrants must be currently resident in the UK and studying at a UK-based university.
Submit your paper and a brief cover email explaining your research and eligibility to:
- Do not include any information that could identify you or your affiliation (university) in the abstract text (as this could invalidate you at shortlisting).
- Abstracts must be an original, unpublished paper, that has not been submitted in any other forum.
(note: if you have already submitted your abstract to this year’s IAC, this will have been passed to us for consideration) - Abstracts must fit into one of the following IAC categories: Science and Exploration; Applications and Operations; Technology; Infrastructure; Space and Society.
- Abstracts must be written in English and the length shall not exceed 400 words.
- Tables, drawings and equations are not allowed in the abstract.
- Entries must be submitted by 5pm BST on the date stated in the TIMELINE.
- Once all the abstracts have been submitted, a shortlist will be drawn up by a panel of judges and the finalists are required to present their work at the UK Selection event, hosted at BIS Headquarters, Vauxhall, where a winner and runner-up will be selected in each category.
If you have any questions, please direct them to Fabrizio Bernardini at [email protected]
11 May: Deadline for submitting UK abstracts.
8 June: Deadline for Confirmation from Supervisors.
22 June: Present your Paper to the BIS Selection Committee.
Following the selection, the winners will be included in the programme by the IAF Secretariat, at which point, they will receive all the information for the registration.
5-9 October 2026: Present Paper at IAC E2 Symposium (student conference) at IAC2026 in Antalya, Türkiye
(The E2 session dates are available on the IAC2026 programme (Page 51): www.iac2026.org)
The 2024 call for submissions is now CLOSED.
GOOD LUCK to all 2024 entrants!
Please try again in 2025.
More Information: The IAC Student Paper Competition – UK SELECTION
This Year’s competition is currently
CLOSED FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS
Prize fund: £750
DEADLINE: 24 April 2023 (5pm BST)
Shortlisting: 26-30 April 2023
UK Selection Final: 13 May 2023
International Finals take place at the IAC2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan, 2-6 Oct 2023
This Year’s competition is currently
CLOSED for submissions
Prize fund: £750
DEADLINE: 10 June 2022
Shortlisting: 13-24 June 2022
UK Selection Final: 2 July 2022
International Finals take place at the IAC2022 in Paris, 18-22 Sept 2022
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 UK competition winners were not able to present their work in the International Astronautical Congress student competition.
The 2020 winners presented their papers at IAC2021.
As a result, there was no UK selection for the IAC2021 Student Paper Competition.
UK Selection Winners 2020
James McKevitt of Loughborough University won the Undergraduate competition with his paper ASTrAEUS: AERIAL-AQUATIC TITAN MISSION PROFILE
Alexander Schwertheim won the Postgraduate prize with his paper, The Water ElecTrolysis Hall Effect Thruster (WET-HET): Unlocking Chemical-Electrical Hybrid Propulsion with Water.
Each winner received £1,000, and joined the Council of the Society for a celebration following the IAC Cyber Edition.
Please allow 3-5 working days for your question to be answered during the main renewal period (Nov – Mar).