UK IT Industry Awards - Judges information
Thank you for being a judge at the 2025 UK IT Industry Awards, we hope you enjoy the experience!
Key dates
Key dates to remember for the UK IT Industry Awards 2025!
23 May
Early bird entry deadline
27 June
Entry deadline
19 August
Shortlist announced/table sales
15-18 September
Judging week
12 November
Awards ceremony
What to expect on the day
Judging for 2025 will be held remotely over four consecutive days. It will still be a fast-paced and inspiring day - which we know you will enjoy! Judging will be facilitated through Microsoft Teams and you’ll have a team on hand there to support you.
You will not be required for all four days, you will just be needed on the day that your category has been allocated to, the days are as follows:
Monday 15 September
Personal Excellence
Tuesday 16 September
Project Excellence
Wednesday 17 September
Organisational Excellence and Vendor
Thursday 18 September
Technology Excellence
Agenda and timings
On the day you’ll see up to 10 finalists who will give an interview (Personal Excellence) or presentation (Organisational and Vendor, Project or Technology Excellence) to the judging panel via Microsoft Teams. Each session will last 30 minutes with five minutes before the start of the next session to allow for set up and any testing with the next finalist.
Timetable for the day
Two weeks before
Two weeks before the judging day you will be provided with details to access to Finalist entries, Judging criteria information and the score sheets you will need to use on the day.
One week before
One week before the judging day you will receive up to 10 calendar invitations from BCS with Microsoft Teams call links. These will form the agenda for your category and will contain details of your finalists and their organisation.
Timings
It is important that we stick to time, Report judges will keep an eye on timings. There are also scheduled moderator breaks throughout the day where the moderators will be on hand to answer any of your questions.
“It’s very important for the progression of the IT industry that we embrace standards. If we don’t we will fail to earn the respect of our customers.”
Tips for successful judging
We've put together some brief guidelines to help you get the most out of your finalists.
Finalists can be really nervous when presenting, help break the ice by introducing yourself - it'll help put the presenter at ease. Please keep introductions to one sentence each.
If you know any of the presenting team or have a relationship with the organisation, please let us know as soon as possible.
It's easy for the day to over run without careful time management. Remember each session should last no longer than 30 minutes.
If a session over runs it will impact the next finalist's slot, so please keep to time.
Organisational / Project / Technology
- Up to 10 minutes maximum for presentation
- Remaining time Q&A
Personal
30 minutes interview
It's important to treat each finalist equally and with your full undivided attention. Each finalist should feel equally valued and that they have an equal chance of winning.
Make sure you have the same allocation of questions - it's usually the questions that help determine the outcome more than the presentation.
If you don't agree with something the presenting team are saying simply move on and take notes.
Make sure you push the presenting team or interviewee on the evidence to demonstrate they have fulfilled the criteria.
Remember to take notes and use the scoring sheets provided - you may see up to 10 finalists during the day, so it’s important to have notes to refer to while deliberating.
When deciding on the winner listen to your fellow judges’ views and be prepared to compromise. If possible, reach a unanimous decision but if this is not possible a decision that is acceptable to everyone.
A report judge will be allocated for each category. The role of the report judge is to ensure each session keeps to time, to collate judges’ scores and comments for their category, to complete the winning score sheet and to convene at the end of the day with the moderators to discuss their decisions. You’ll be notified two weeks before if you are the designated report judge for your category.
All information provided in the entry forms and at the judging appointment must be kept confidential at all times. Winners and highly commended will be announced at the Awards ceremony on 12 November. Please keep this information confidential until that date.
All judges names, organisations and job titles will be published on the UK IT Industry awards website and in the awards brochure on the evening of the ceremony. We will never publish judges contact details.
