Thomas Greenhill, Eleanor Heath, Alexander Martin and Alexey Likhoded competed in a challenging selection event against 167 students from UK universities to win the national Royal Academy of Engineering Leadership Advanced awards.

Candidates were required to participate in a range of selection activities that included presentations and interviews by Fellows of The Royal Academy and Sainsbury Management Fellows.

The objective of the awards is to allow ambitious, inspiring engineering undergraduates, who want to become leadership role models, to undertake an accelerated personal development programme. To achieve this, the winners receive £5,000 to implement a personal development plan, devised in collaboration with the Royal Academy, which aims to provide them with the opportunity to acquire the skills needed to fulfil their potential.

The winners already have a diverse range of plans. Eleanor is interested in attending a conference relating to sustainable civil engineering in Dubai, a hub for civil engineering activity. Alexey is investigating study opportunities in the USA. Alexander is interested in taking courses in French, Advanced 3D/CAD and in studying business in France, and Thomas is interested in going to Iceland to learn about geothermal energy.

Professor Nick Lieven, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, said: “I am delighted that four of our students have won these prestigious awards. Their success is testament to how hard working and capable our engineering students are, and how strongly Bristol engineers compete on a national stage.”

Thomas Greenhill said: 'We are very happy to have won these awards and feel exceedingly lucky to be able to benefit from the opportunities that the Royal Academy is offering to us.”

The event took place from 4 to 5 April at Warwick University. Fifty-six students were shortlisted to attend and 29 candidates were selected for the awards.