Celebrate emerging talent and give a boost to final year projects
Nominations now open for RCOT Early Researcher and Early Innovator Prizes 2026
We’re inviting nominations for our Early Researcher Prize and Early Innovator Prize, celebrating outstanding final-year projects from pre-registration occupational therapy learners.
Nominations will close at 11.59pm, Sunday 28 June 2026.
Recognising emerging talent
We encourage educators to identify nominees and to support learners in preparing their nomination statements.
The two prizes showcase the impact of learner work at the very start of their careers:
- Early Researcher Prize recognises excellence in a final-year research project.
- Early Innovator Prize celebrates an outstanding evidence-based service improvement project.
Both prizes highlight work that contributes to occupational therapy practice, strengthens the evidence base and demonstrates creativity, rigour and real-world impact.
We particularly welcome nominations for members from marginalised and under-represented groups as we strive to represent the whole profession.
I feel very grateful to receive this award and for the opportunity to show how occupational therapy can see beyond stigma, find meaning in every occupation and meet people where they are. I would like to thank Chris Edge and Sam Baker for their support and patience throughout my research journey.
Laura Brolly, Early Researcher Prize winner 2025
Research title: The dark side of occupation: substance use as survival in homeless lives
Who can nominate
Nominations must be submitted by a member of the academic team at the learner’s higher education institution, with the learner’s consent.
This is not to say that learners cannot ask an academic to nominate them!
Projects must have been completed in the learner’s final year of a pre-registration BSc or MSc occupational therapy programme.
Why nominate
These awards are an opportunity to:
- recognise exceptional learner achievement
- showcase innovative and impactful projects
- support the next generation of occupational therapy researchers and innovators.
Winners will receive a prize and have their success publicly recognised by RCOT.
How to apply
Nominations are a team effort!
The nomination process has been designed to be simple and accessible – with one form and clear word limits for both the nominator and learner sections.
Nominators (academics)
- Provide a 200 word (max) reason for nomination
- including the outstanding early research skills or innovation skills demonstrated by the learner.
- Complete and submit the form.
Nominees (learners)
- Provide a 300 word (max) reflection on your learning, including:
- what you learned from doing the research or service improvement project
- what the findings and implications for practice were, and how they added to the evidence base
- how you will apply your learning in your future practice
- your plans for disseminating your findings so others can learn from your project.
- Authorise your nomination and add any additional details to the form before submission.
Download the Early Researcher Prize marking criteria
Download the Early Innovator Prize marking criteria
Submit your nomination today and help recognise the future of occupational therapy research and innovation.
Research and Innovation Fund
These awards are part of our RCOT Research and Innovation Fund, which aims to build the evidence base for occupational therapy, strengthen research capability across the profession and support the development of future research and innovation leaders.