CityZen won Best Education Initiative for its innovation, creativity and measurable impact on the profession.
ICE CityZen has once again proven its impact in the education sector by winning Best Education Initiative under the engagement category at the 2024 Memcom Excellence Awards.
This marks the third major accolade following wins at the Bett Awards and Learning Technologies Awards.
Now in its fourth year, the ICE CityZen Award is a team-based competition designed to engage young people with the world of civil engineering, featuring a unique online game and project pitch.
The game, created by developers Make Real Ltd, delivers a dynamic learning experience where students make tough choices about sustainability, infrastructure, and urban planning.
After playing, teams are challenged to apply their learnings and create a compelling pitch for improvements to their local area to present to a panel of ICE judges.
The Memcom Excellence Awards
The Memcom Excellence Awards celebrate innovation and creativity in the professional body sector, shining light on the top achievements of membership organisations.
The Memcom judges praised the ICE CityZen Award for its innovation and creativity while highlighting the measurable impact it has on the profession.
The judges said: “An excellent, innovative project, clearly attempting to solve a significant problem for their industry.”
“Creativity is evident in the use of a gamified learning experience, team collaboration challenges, and the innovative video pitch task,” they added.
The winners were announced by award-winning stand-up comedian and writer, Sophie Duker, at the Hilton Bankside in London.
The impact of ICE CityZen
The ICE CityZen Award has grown from strength to strength. Since its launch in 2021, 3,200 students have played the game and learnt who civil engineers are and what they do. Over 350 brilliant student videos have been created.
The programme’s latest win is testament to all the positive feedback given by the schools, teachers and students and the incredible support from the ICE’s STEM ambassadors.
A year 12 student from the 2023 silver winning team in Bolton said, “The ICE CityZen Challenge has been one of the best learning experiences for our group. We have learnt so much about the world of civil engineering and how vast its branches reach.”
The teacher who guided the gold-winning team in 2023 said: “The students got far more from the competition than I had ever imagined, it gave genuine insight into the roles of a civil engineer, and the issues and wider considerations that need to be made as part of their job.”
Newfound interest in engineering
The competition has the potential to make a real impact on the UK's lack of professional engineers, as approximately one-third of past participants expressed new-found interest in a civil engineering career after taking part.
Importantly, a 2024 UCAS study revealed that participants are ‘significantly more likely to apply and be accepted onto engineering and related courses, especially civil engineering courses.’‘
‘Equipping the next generation of engineers’
Séan Harris, ICE deputy director general and director of membership, said the institution is “incredibly proud” that the CityZen competition was recognised with this award.
“This accolade is testament to the hard work, creativity, and passion behind the project.
“The use of gamified learning, team collaboration, and the project pitch task have proven to be impactful, delivering measurable results with the continued support of our ICE STEM Ambassador members,” Harris said.
“This resoundingly positive feedback demonstrates that we are equipping the next generation of engineers and professionals with the tools they need to thrive.
“This award is a significant milestone for us, and we are thrilled to see ICE CityZen making such a lasting and positive impact within the civil engineering profession."
Speaking about the game, Tim Powell-Jones, principal immersive learning designer at Make Real Ltd, said: "We're very proud to be part of the CityZen project.
"A key element in the design was engaging closely with schools on paper prototypes of the game to make sure it was relevant to students and would get them excited about careers in civil engineering.
"It really was a pleasure to work with the teachers and students to refine the game!"
The ICE extends its gratitude to the family of ICE member David Butler for their generous bequest, which made the creation of the ICE CityZen game and competition possible.
The ICE also recognises and thanks its competition partners, JBA Trust and Loud Speaker, for their valuable support and prizes for the competition.
The success of the ICE CityZen game has led to the development of a second competition in 2024 for 14-16s called the ICE CityZen Pollution Control Challenge.
Get involved
Schools and ICE STEM Ambassadors can still register their interest in taking part in the 2024-25 ICE CityZen Award which starts this autumn.
Become a mentor or renew your STEM ambassador registration to take part in CityZen and other ICE education and inspiration activities.
Find out more about ICE’s education and inspiration resources.
