Future Leaders Competition 2026

IIC Future Leaders Competition 2026

What do you need to do?
This year, entrants are asked to produce an essay and submit electronically on the following topic:

Effective emergency preparedness: safeguarding ICT systems and infrastructure from disruption

Communications networks are treated as a critical national infrastructure because of the key role they play (increasingly) in daily life but also as a means of communicating in times of emergency. For example the international reaction to last September’s Red Sea cable cuts [1] or the devastation caused to communications by natural disasters such as Storm Melissa in Jamaica [2].

The ability to prepare for, and withstand, interruptions to communications networks, or network resilience, is defined by the ITU as ‘The ability to provide and maintain an acceptable level of service in the face of faults and challenges to normal operation of a given communication network, based on prepared facilities’ [3].

In this year’s essay we would like you to concentrate on two principal policy areas that define ‘network resilience’:

• the protection of infrastructure (undersea and telecommunications) including data centres and
• diversification within the telecommunications supply chain.

Do you find the current policies designed to protect national and international communications systems from disruption to be sufficient? Is anything more needed – why and how might it be achieved?

References:

[1]  Please click here to read.
[2] Please click here to read.
[3] Please click here to read.

You should:

• Develop a sustained and well-structured response, addressing the questions asked
• Show evidence and justification for your position
• Show an awareness & understanding of contending viewpoints
• Show commercial awareness & understanding of competitive market forces

Key dates for your diary

Competition open for entries – from Wednesday 15 April 2026
Competition closing date – Monday 20 July 2026, 16:00 BST
Winner announced – Monday 10 August 2026

What are the rules?

The IIC 2026 Competition for Future Leaders is a competition run by the International Institute of Communications. By entering the competition, entrants agree to comply with the rules set out below.

Eligibility

• The Competition is open to individuals aged 18 – 35 years old and working in a field aligned with IIC’s key themes
• Entries must be received by Monday 20 July 2026 (16:00 BST)
• Entries must be the original work of the author and previously unpublished
• Collaboration with colleagues is permitted, however, there must be one lead author

Submission requirements

• An essay word length of 2500 – 3000 words (to include an abstract of no more than 150 words); references, footnotes and figures are not included in the word limit
• Entries will be evaluated on criteria including original thought and analysis – all submissions will be reviewed anonymously (see below note on the use of generative AI)
• We do not stipulate any special format for footnotes and referencing but you must acknowledge your sources and we ask that you be consistent in your style
  • In particular, the use of generative AI must be acknowledged, with the name and version of the generative AI system used and the context in which it is used
• Please submit your essay directly to enquiries@iicom.org
• Only 1 submission per person may be made (if collaborating with colleagues – the lead author will need to submit the entry)
• Entries must be submitted in English

Awards

The overall winner will receive:

• An invitation to present their winning entry at the IIC’s Annual Conference (12 – 15 October 2026) with travel and accommodation paid and £250 subsistence
• Their winning entry to be published in Intermedia, the IIC’s quarterly journal, online and on our social media channels
• One year’s complimentary membership to the IIC Future Leaders Network, which includes access to the IIC’s networks and resources

The winner and runners up will have:

• Their abstract published in Intermedia
• Their entry published online
• One year’s complimentary membership to the IIC Future Leaders Network – which includes access to the IIC’s networks and resources

Terms and conditions

• Entrants must be 18–35 years old (at time of closing date) and working in a field aligned with IIC’s key themes
• Entrants may use AI tools for limited assistance (e.g. spelling, grammar, or idea generation), but the final submission must be substantially the entrant’s own original work
• For joint entries, only the lead author will have the opportunity to attend the IIC’s Annual Conference
• Judges reserve the right not to award a prize. All decisions are final
• For the winning entrant, any required visa applications and costs associated with travel to the IIC Annual Conference are the winner’s responsibility. Flights and accommodation will only be arranged after visa approval

Back to main competition page.