AIDIA – Italian Association of Women Engineers and Architects promotes the second edition of the award dedicated to women graduates in engineering and architecture. Applications are open until September 21, 2026. The award ceremony will take place on November 27 at the Casa dell’Architettura in Rome. AIDIA – Italian Association of Women Engineers and Architects …
AIDIA – Italian Association of Women Engineers and Architects promotes the second edition of the award dedicated to women graduates in engineering and architecture. Applications are open until September 21, 2026. The award ceremony will take place on November 27 at the Casa dell’Architettura in Rome.
AIDIA – Italian Association of Women Engineers and Architects has launched the second edition of the AIDIA Award 2026 “Ideas for a Changing World”, an initiative created to highlight the work of women in architecture, engineering and technical professions.
The award is open to women graduates in engineering and architecture who have completed actions, interventions, works, processes or projects capable of generating a positive impact on quality of life, work, places, organisations or communities.
After its first edition, the AIDIA Award returns with a structure divided into four main categories. In addition, it includes a Special Award promoted in collaboration with Fondazione Inarcassa and dedicated to freelance women professionals.
Applications may be submitted until 11:59 p.m. on 21 September 2026. The award ceremony is scheduled for 27 November 2026 at the Casa dell’Architettura in Rome, inside the Acquario Romano, in Piazza Manfredo Fanti.
AIDIA Award 2026 and the goals of the initiative
The AIDIA Award 2026 was created to recognise professional experiences led by women that have generated tangible change through technical expertise, innovation, design quality and social, environmental and cultural responsibility.
The call is aimed at projects that have already been completed. Therefore, simple ideas, projects still in the prototyping phase or unimplemented dissertations are not eligible. This requirement clearly defines the profile of the award: AIDIA aims to promote interventions that have already produced measurable results, even when developed on a local, experimental, pilot, small or medium scale.
Furthermore, the initiative is aligned with the United Nations 2030 Agenda, with particular reference to Goal 5 – Gender Equality. This objective promotes women’s empowerment as a key factor for sustainable, fair and inclusive development.
Who can apply for the AIDIA Award 2026
The competition is reserved for women graduates in Engineering or Architecture.
Applications may be submitted individually or as part of a group. In the case of working groups, the group leader must be a woman; however, the team may also include men.
Each candidate, whether applying individually or as part of a group, may submit only one application. The project must refer to one of the categories included in the call.
Applications must concern interventions, works, processes or actions that have already been completed, published or otherwise known by the date of publication of the call. AIDIA members, members of the Judging Committee and other subjects listed among the incompatibilities in the regulations are not eligible to apply.
The categories of the AIDIA Award 2026
The second edition of the AIDIA Award is divided into four categories.
Regeneration and redevelopment
This category concerns redevelopment projects involving degraded public or private areas or properties, with particular attention to the reuse of abandoned spaces or disused buildings.
Projects will be assessed for their ability to generate new social, cultural and economic relationships within the community. As a result, the category focuses on interventions that contribute to the reactivation of places, urban contexts or territorial areas.
Environmental improvement
This section is dedicated to eco-sustainable interventions, devices or solutions capable of reducing the impact on natural resources. It also includes projects that improve energy performance, increase the use of renewable sources and contribute to decarbonisation and the reduction of environmental pollution.
The category therefore addresses sustainability applied to design, technology and the transformation processes of places.
Digital systems
The “Digital Systems” category focuses on services, applications, platforms, digital products, IT networks or innovative processes that have improved people’s lives or the functioning of public or private organisations.
The call also considers solutions capable of introducing new work models, new user experiences or new forms of collaboration, including those developed in emerging or experimental contexts.
Female managerial leadership
The fourth category is dedicated to professional experiences, in either the public or private sector, that have generated effective, inclusive, accessible or participatory leadership models.
Particular value will be given to experiences capable of creating positive and collaborative working environments, where skills and professional abilities are recognised and developed.
The Fondazione Inarcassa Special Award
Alongside the four main categories, the AIDIA Award 2026 includes a Fondazione Inarcassa Special Award. This recognition is reserved for candidates who, on the date of publication of the call, are regularly registered with the National Welfare and Assistance Fund for Freelance Engineers and Architects.
The special award is designed to highlight the experience of freelance women professionals who, as project owners or managers, have assumed full technical, economic and organisational responsibility in professional processes or commissions.
Assessment will take into account professional experience, organisational and management skills, entrepreneurial ability and innovation.
The Fondazione Inarcassa Special Award may be combined with the category awards. Therefore, a freelance candidate may receive both the award for her category and the special award, if she ranks first in both selections.
Awards and evaluation criteria
Each of the four categories includes a prize of 1,500 euros, before tax charges and legal withholding.
The Fondazione Inarcassa Special Award also includes a financial prize of 1,500 euros.
In addition, all winners will receive one year of free membership in the AIDIA local section closest to their place of residence.
Applications will be assessed according to four main criteria:
- impact and effects on quality of life, work or community;
- innovation;
- strategic vision;
- replicability and reproducibility.
For the Fondazione Inarcassa Special Award, the evaluation will instead focus on professional experience, organisational and management skills, entrepreneurial ability and innovation.
The maximum score is 100 points, with a minimum threshold of 60 points.
The Judging Committee
The Judging Committee is composed of eight members appointed by AIDIA.
According to the call, the committee includes:
- Arch. Anna Vella, National President of AIDIA;
- Ing. Annachiara Castagna, National Vice President of AIDIA;
- Arch. Carmen Andriani, lecturer in Architectural and Urban Design and architect;
- Dr Francesca Mariotti, President of ENEA;
- Prof. Gaetano Scamarcio, Director of the CNR Institute of Nanoscience;
- Ing. Ippolita Chiarolini, National Council of Engineers;
- Arch. Michela Alessandra Locati, National Council of Architects, Planners, Landscape Architects and Conservationists;
- a representative of Fondazione Inarcassa, member pending appointment.
The Committee will evaluate the applications received by verifying compliance with the formal requirements and assigning scores according to the criteria established in the call.
How to submit an application
Applications must be submitted using Annex A, available on the official AIDIA website.
The application must include the materials required by the call, including a biography, a photo of the candidate or working group, an identity document, a descriptive report on the nominated intervention or process, and graphic or presentation materials.
Candidates applying for the Fondazione Inarcassa Special Award must also submit documentation proving regular registration with Inarcassa, together with a dedicated descriptive report on their professional activity.
The complete application must be sent by 11:59 p.m. on 21 September 2026 to the following address:
AIDIApremio@gmail.com
The material must be sent in a single compressed folder, named after the candidate or group leader. The folder must not exceed 20 MB.
Key dates for the AIDIA Award 2026
The call for the AIDIA Award 2026 was published on 12 May 2026.
The press conference presenting the initiative was held on 13 May 2026 at the headquarters of the National Council of Engineers in Rome.
Requests for clarification may be sent to AIDIApremio@gmail.com until 30 June 2026. Answers will be published on the AIDIA website by 15 July 2026.
The deadline for submitting applications is 21 September 2026.
The award ceremony will take place on 27 November 2026 at the Casa dell’Architettura in Rome, at the Acquario Romano.
AIDIA and the role of women in technical professions
AIDIA is an Italian non-profit organisation founded in 1957. It brings together women graduates in architecture and engineering and promotes women’s presence in technical fields through cultural, professional and associative activities.
With the second edition of the “Ideas for a Changing World” Award, the association confirms its commitment to giving visibility to women professionals working in architecture, engineering, the environment, digital systems, professional management and innovation.
The award represents an opportunity to bring forward projects and professional paths that have already produced tangible effects. In this way, it contributes to the transformation of territories, organisations and communities.
For complete information, the official call and application forms, please visit the official AIDIA Award 2026 page on the AIDIA website.
