Become a volunteer judge at the UAS Challenge

Get involved in the Institution's exciting aerospace engineering competition.

Taking place annually, the UAS Challenge is a student engineering competition, organised by the IMechE and a dedicated committee of engineers from across the aerospace industry.

The Challenge has seen year on year growth and with 53 teams from 16 countries, the 2026 edition is set to be the biggest competition in its history, and opportunities are now available for engineers to become volunteer judges alongside the committee and help review, score, and feed back to teams on their submitted work.

This is your chance to lend your expertise to an exciting engineering competition and help guide and support young engineers working on a fun and exciting project that is as close to the real world as it gets.

The process to apply to become a judge is simple:

1. Download the Judging Guidelines document to understand the role and responsibilities
2. Write a short email to uaschallenge@imeche.org with your contact details and a short paragraph outlining your suitability and availability
3. Deadline for entries 12 December 2025

The IMechE will provide accommodation and catering for all volunteer judges taking part in the Fly Off event on 29 June - 2 July 2026.

Please pass on the details to any colleagues and contacts who would enjoy getting involved and we look forward to receiving your applications.

UAS Challenge overview

Now in its 12th year, the UAS Challenge tasks teams of undergraduate degree students and apprentices to design and build an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) with a maximum take off mass of 10kg that will carry out specific mission objectives. Each UAS must operate autonomously, with a live Fly-Off event at the BMFA Buckminster site in July providing an opportunity for teams to demonstrate the capabilities of their aircraft and to elaborate and justify their engineering decision making in formal presentations.

The Challenge is a key contributor to the Institution's strategy to both develop the pipeline of talent for the future of the engineering profession and provide opportunities for the engineering community to further develop their skills. Participants complete the academic year equipped with extensive new knowledge and enhanced problem-solving abilities, emerging as well-rounded, capable graduates prepared to take on the engineering challenges they will encounter in industry.