Bill Law Award 2026

The Bill Law Award is a legacy and tribute to the work of Dr Bill Law, Founding Fellow of NICEC, who died in April 2017.  His work was recognised internationally and was significant in its impact on the way that career development is conceptualized and practised. The award celebrates emerging innovation within the career development sector and importantly, the relationship between research, theory and practice.  

A warm night in July 2026 saw the NICEC community come together to celebrate the finalists and winner of the annual Bill Law Award. Held in honour of NICEC Founding Fellow Dr Bill Law, the evening celebrated emerging talent and research that bridges the gap between theory and practice.

The event was hosted by Laura Walker, with opening words from NICEC Chair Pete Robertson and a keynote presentation from Dr Emma Bolger who passionately advocated for the value of careers practitioner led research. It was then onto the highlight of the evening; the rapid-fire presentation session, where our seven finalists took on the challenge of condensing their original research into a strict three-minute snapshot.

We would like to extend our warmest congratulations to all of this year's exceptional finalists:

Anastasiia Fedchuk

Hope Fogg

Francesca Harvey

Sarra Jenkins

Dean Mazhawidza (Highly commended)

Ash Mukherjee

Jenny Sloan

Announcing the 2026 Winner

The event culminated in the announcement of the overall 2026 Bill Law Award winner.

We are delighted to celebrate Ash Mukherjee as this year's winner for their outstanding submission, "Solving the Northern Apprenticeship Paradox."

NICEC wishes to thank Ash, our finalists, our speakers, and everyone who joined us online. The diverse ideas and energy shared leave us incredibly optimistic about the future of career development research and practice.