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The IHBC Gus Astley Annual Student Award

Up to £500 and free IHBC annual School places for selected entries for outstanding under- or post-graduate coursework relating to built or historc environment conservation.

Topics may cover any aspect of conservation including:

  • evaluation (eg history, research or surveying)
  • management (eg policy, finance or planning)
  • and/or intervention (eg design, technology or architecture)

Applicants need only submit a digital version of their coursework!
See gasa.ihbc.org.uk for forms & details

Closing date: 31st August

For results see the IHBC NewsBlog, Context, the IHBC’s membership journal, & the IHBC Annual School 

For information only please contact:
studentaward@ihbc.org.uk

2025 British Construction & Infrastructure Awards (BCIA)

The Awards for 2025 have been refreshed, along with the event name itself, plus they are free to enter* . They celebrate and honour the outstanding contributions of the British construction industry to society. This industry not only delivers transformative buildings and infrastructure that enhance lives and fuel economic growth but also creates exceptional job opportunities and careers, fosters strong community relationships, drives innovation, and champions the low-carbon agenda.

Introducing the Sir John Armitt Prize – This prize recognises projects that surpass objectives, satisfy clients, and deliver significant benefits to end-users and stakeholders. Winners embody industry excellence, showcasing what projects can achieve at their very best. This Prize will covet national media attention.

Sir John Armitt, Chair of the judging panel for the prize said:

“I am delighted to have been asked to help select the inaugural award in my name and celebrate the very best we can achieve. We design to satisfy a client’s desired outcomes. But at the same time, we need to satisfy wider stakeholders that we have created buildings and infrastructure which benefit the community and create an improved and uplifting environment. To achieve this, we must be creative, innovate, and challenge ourselves and our colleagues in a collaborative approach – and this award recognises a project team that exemplifies these very qualities.”

The awards take place on 8 October 2025, are brought to you by the Institution of Civil Engineers and New Civil Engineer and celebrate the hard work and dedication of the whole project team – from clients, architects, designers and contractors .

There are 24  prestigious award categories for you to enter, all judged by our independent panel of 100+ expert judges , who ensure integrity and rigour in our awards process. New for 2025 , we are delighted to announce the Energy Project Award, the Water Project Award, the International Project Award, four Design & Delivery Excellence Awards and the overarching special category in the Sir John Armitt Prize – great additions to an already prestigious set of award categories!

The awards take place on 8 October 2025. Considering the challenges faced by the industry, there is no better year to enter the BCIA. Make the most of this incredible opportunity and submit your entry by Friday 9 May 2025 *Enter by 25 April 2025 for free ).

The Craftsmanship Category is open for entries

Sponsored by

Projects which demonstrate bricklayers’ exceptional skill and the highest level of craftsmanship may enter this category.

The category welcomes all building types from sculptural work to large-scale brickwork detailing.

This category is very much about recognising the contribution of the people who undertake the brickwork and is about the level of craftsmanship in application, rather than design.

Projects must have been completed within the last two years, and substantially use BDA-member bricks.

VSA – London Summer School, July 2025: Scholarships Available 

Applications Close: 20 March

There is still time to apply for a place on this year’s Victorian Society in America London Summer School, which takes place 28 June – 12 July 2025. Now in its 49th year, the Summer School is a two-week intensive postgraduate study course in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century architecture and decorative arts. From its hotel base in Bloomsbury, the Summer School explores Victorian and Edwardian London, with lectures by distinguished scholars and behind-the-scenes visits to significant sites. Six days are spent visiting the great industrial cities of the north of England, and masterpieces of the Arts and Crafts movement in the Cotswolds. The VSA is an IHBC-registered CPD provider.

For more information on how to apply for places and scholarships, please visit: London Summer School – Victorian Society

Inquiries can be directed to Anne Mallek at admin@vsasummerschools.org 

Call for Internship – ICCROM: Sustainability and Built Heritage Intern

Applications close: 4th March 2025

ICCROM has a long history of developing and implementing research and training on conserving and managing urban and built heritage. From 1960 to 1988, the International Architectural Conservation Course (ARC) equipped professionals from various disciplines with the knowledge and tools to develop a mutual understanding of architectural conservation. Recognizing the evolving challenges in built heritage conservation, ICCROM launched the Integrated Territorial and Urban Conservation Programme (ITUC) in 1995. The programme aimed to integrate urban conservation with urban and territorial planning systems, focusing on landscapes or larger territories and recognizing the dynamic relationship between people and heritage. Building on ARC and ITUC courses, ICCROM developed a new course, Conservation of Built Heritage (CBH), which combined theoretical and practical capacity building for professionals from a wide range of disciplines. 

Additionally, ICCROM has also collaborated with partners to develop courses linked with built heritage, such as archaeological heritage, mural paintings, stone and wood conservation. 

The Sustainability and Built Heritage programme focuses on several priority areas that aim to address conservation challenges in the light of current global challenges such as disasters, climate change, conflicts and ill-conceived tourism and development. It also strives towards designing, testing and implementing tools and methodologies based on cutting-edge digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence for documentation, assessing damages and risks, long-term monitoring as well as developing sustainable post-crisis recovery, conservation and management practices for built and urban heritage. It also aims to develop new initiatives aimed at conservation of modern materials such as concrete. 

This internship offers the opportunity to work closely with a dynamic team engaged in projects addressing research and capacity development for built heritage conservation, post-crisis recovery and urban heritage management for sustainable development. The selected candidate will gain insights into international heritage protection initiatives, learn project management techniques, and develop professional skills in a multicultural environment.

For more information, visit the website here

The Church of England – Conservation Grants

We give grants for the conservation of our historic church interiors and churchyard structures in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage FundPilgrim Trust, the Radcliffe Trust, the Oswald Allen Bequest, the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, the Gunnis Fund, and the Anglican Parish Churches Fund.

If you are interested in grants for Net Zero Carbon projects, please visit the Net zero carbon projects for churches webpage. 

Includes:

Grants for historic church interiors and churchyard structures

Conservation report and groundwork grants

Find out more here

Plowden Medal Conservation Award 2025

Nominations for the 2025 Plowden Medal Conservation Award are open until Friday 16th May 2025. If you know of any talented conservators who deserve recognition for their work, please consider nominating them and sharing the details with your network.

The nomination form can be completed online and the deadline for nominations is Friday 16th May 2025. The medal will be presented to the winner in the Autumn.

We encourage you to attend one of our open surgeries where members of the Committee will be able to answer any queries about the nomination process and completing the nomination form. These will be held on Tuesday 18th February and Tuesday 4th March @11am on Zoom. To register or for any queries please email plowdenmedal@rwha.co.uk

We would be very grateful if you were able to share this information with your network to encourage applications. If you would like to keep up to date with Plowden please follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram:

Instagram: @theplowdenmedal

LinkedIn:  The Plowden Medal

EU – New European Bauhaus Prizes 2025

The New European Bauhaus (NEB) Prizes celebrate innovative projects and ideas that embody NEB values—sustainability, inclusivity, and beauty. Over four editions, the competition has attracted over 5,000 applications and awarded EUR 1.54 million to 72 winners. The Prizes inspire regions, cities, and towns to embrace NEB principles, foster youth participation, and promote intergenerational dialogue.

In this section, you can find an overview of the main elements of the NEB Prizes 2025.

Applications for this award are now open! You can apply from 14 January 2025 to 14 February 2025. Learn more about the upcoming edition below.

Find out more here

The British Library – PhD Placement Scheme

he British Library annual placement scheme offers doctoral researchers from all disciplines the chance to develop and apply transferable skills and expertise outside the university sector.

Projects cover activities ranging from cataloguing, conservation and interpretation to policy research, resource development and research or community engagement. The duration for each placement is 3 months (or part time equivalent).

Current research themes are available on the British Library’s website, where more information on each theme is available. The themes open for applications now are:

  • Sarah Sophia Banks’s guide to her ‘Ceremonies &c p = print’
  • Imprimerie Royale Proofs 1640-1789 
  • Computational analysis of early printed book descriptions
  • Curating the manuscripts in the Lady Eccles Oscar Wilde collection: provenance, preservation and access
  • Examination of the British Library’s collection of American underground comix and related ephemera 
  • Understanding user needs on climate change and sustainability
  • Unearthed at the British Library: achieving a sustainable exhibition
  • Afro-Brazilian history and culture in print: surveying the British Library collections
  • Mapping the collections: oral histories of architecture in the British Library

Deadline: 21 February
More information and booking here.

UCL EPSRC Landscape Award (UELA) studentship

Applications close: 28 January 2025

The UCL EPSRC Landcape Award (UELA) has 50 fully-funded four-year studentships available for 2025/26. Studentships are open to both Home and International fee status students, however EPSRC caps the number of International students at 30% so a maximum of 15 International students can be recruited and competition for these places will be particularly strong.

Applications close at 13:00 UK time on Tuesday 28 January 2025. If there are places available after all offers have been made, additional applications will be considered in Round 2. Round 2 will open in February and close in early June. We will not know whether there are places available for round 2 until after it closes, and Round 2 will be for Home candidates only. We strongly recommend you apply by the initial deadline for round 1 of 13:00 UK time on 28 January 2025.  

For more information visit the website here

AHRC/CHASE Collaborative Doctoral Award (CDA) PhD studentship – Coastal Heritage and Socio-Economic Decline on the Isle of Sheppey: Learning from the lost village of Elmley in Kent

AHRC/CHASE Collaborative Doctoral Award (CDA) PhD studentship in collaboration with the School of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of Kent, and Hillcrest Conservation Consultants (Hillcrest Enterprises South Ltd) – Coastal Heritage and Socio-Economic Decline on the Isle of Sheppey: Learning from the lost village of Elmley in Kent.

Qualification type: PhD

Location: School of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of Kent, Marlowe Building, Canterbury, CT2 7NR

Funding for: UK Students and International Students

Funding amount: fees and stipend at AHRC rates (for the current academic year 2024-25, the stipend rate is £19,837). This includes enhanced stipend to cover additional travel costs relating to the project. Please note: this funding amount typically increases with inflation each academic year. Access to additional funding related to research/equipment/event costs will be available.

Closes: Monday 17 February 2025, 12 noon