About the awards

The Awards were set up to identify and celebrate Ireland’s best undergraduates in specific areas, such as future careers (CTO, Leadership etc) and other categories (Female, Sustainability etc). Being the best means having a combination of academic excellence, the ability to pass a series of online assessments, good written communication and, finally, the interpersonal skills necessary to compete with other students in interviews and/or assessment centres run by the partnering organisations. The final shortlist of ten students for each award are invited to the awards ceremony in April, where the winners are announced.

Each award is hosted in partnership with organisations that recruit graduates. Along with helping to identify the winners of the category the partners will provide a fantastic prize for the winner, and other exclusive opportunities.

Each award has clearly stated entry criteria, such as year of study and a minimum educational requirement. Students who don't meet the entry criteria will not be considered.

Undergraduates from all third level Irish universities, institutions and colleges are eligible – providing you also meet the entry criteria.

You may well be eligible to enter more than one award but the rules of the competition mean that you can only enter for ONE award , so choose wisely. Read each entry page carefully to see which award you're best suited for before you start the application process.

The 2026 Awards' categories

The entry process

The process starts online with the collection of basic personal information, up to 3 on-line assessments from our partner SHL, a leading global provider of talent intelligence solutions, and up to three questions posed by the award partner (specific details can be found under the heading ‘How do I win?’ for each award). This phase can take around two hours but you don't need to complete everything in one visit; you can save and come back at any time before the closing date in February.

The SHL assessments are designed to provide insights into your preferred ways of working, and your potential to demonstrate the skills and abilities that are valued by employers for graduate roles. This information will be used alongside other information gathered by the partner from your application, to support decision making on who moves to the next stage of the process; typically an interview and a partner led assessment centre which often involves meeting other finalists. From there, the best ten students are then invited to the Awards Ceremony in April, where the winner is announced.

The gradireland Undergraduate of the Year Awards are the only undergraduate awards in Ireland and are widely recognised by graduate recruiters. Those shortlisted have a recognised accolade to add to their CV and benefit from a networking day with top graduate employers. Not only that but, they will gain experience of undergoing a typical assessment process by top graduate employers, whilst receiving feedback to support on-going learning and development.

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