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Member News: Gray’s School of Art Design Student Wins Offshore Achievement Awards Trophy Commission

November 6, 2025
Member News: Gray’s School of Art Design Student Wins Offshore Achievement Awards Trophy Commission

The Offshore Achievement Awards (OAA) has announced Suzanne Whittle as the winner of its prestigious trophy design competition for the 2026 awards ceremony.

Each OAA category winner takes home a coveted trophy designed each year by Gray’s School of Art 3D Design students. The students presented their concepts for the 2026 trophy to a panel of 6 judges and were then tasked with creating a prototype for further judging. 

Suzanne’s innovative design beat competing entries with a concept that captures the essence of the offshore energy sector’s evolution, combining traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. The winning trophy features a 3D-printed organic form inspired by seismic surveying processes, paired with an oak wood base that references the durable decking materials used on supply vessels.

A distinctive steel element split through the middle serves as a powerful metaphor for breakthrough innovation while subtly referencing drilling into the seabed—themes at the heart of the offshore industry’s ongoing transformation.

The design incorporates laser-cut engraving and will be produced as a series of 11 trophies to honour winners across all award categories at the 2026 ceremony.

“It means a lot to have won this award,” said Suzanne. “We have been running two live projects this semester, so it’s really helped with my time management working on a real client brief. This will really help my career in the future.”

Production of the trophies is set to begin in November 2025, with delivery scheduled for mid-February 2026. The design successfully met the project’s material budget requirements while delivering a trophy that embodies the offshore sector’s key themes of transition, innovation, and connection.

The 39th annual Offshore Achievement Awards, sponsored by Bilfinger celebrates excellence and innovation across the offshore energy industry, recognising outstanding contributions from individuals and organisations shaping the sector’s future.

Winners of the OAA’s will be announced at a black-tie ceremony on the 5th March at the P&J Live in Aberdeen. The full list of OAA categories for 2026 are:

  • Emerging Technology Award
  • Field-Proven Technology Award
  • Collaboration Award
  • Sustainability Project Award
  • Skills Development Award
  • Offshore Workplace of Choice – Judges Award – supported by RigRun
  • Inclusivity Champion Award – sponsored by slb
  • Industry Expert Award
  • Young Professional Award
  • Industry Transferer/Returner Award
  • Significant Contribution Award

Entries are now open until 28th November 2025, with finalists announced in January 2026. Entries are open to all UK-registered companies within the oil & gas and renewables sectors. Sponsorship is available for each Award category. Contact [email protected] for more information. 

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AREG is the original energy transition organisation, working on behalf of members to empower the energy supply chain and champion its expertise. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to find out more about membership.

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AREG has played an important role in the growth of Scotland’s renewable energy sector, engaging the supply chain and developing the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. However, we are only at the very beginning of the transition that AREG was established to both lead and support so there are still opportunities for companies to get into the constantly evolving renewables supply chain. We look forward to continuing our work together as renewables builds on its place as Scotland’s main source of power, and as we seek to deliver real change in the crucial areas of heat and transport.

Scottish Renewables
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Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has worked closely with AREG since its formation. The recent progress in the developments of offshore wind projects by Equinor and Vattenfall are as a result of the work of the group over many years. The north-east is known as the oil and gas capital of Europe. At the Chamber, we believe the region must evolve its position to being recognised as the energy capital. Whilst hydrocarbons will continue to be essential in driving our economy for years to come, the generation of renewable resources will play an increasingly important role in providing cost-effective power, innovative development and economic growth.

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce
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The enthusiasm and dedication of the early group that would become AREG was fundamental in us choosing to launch All-Energy in Aberdeen. The first tiny show was held in 2001, and AREG’s Chairman at the time, Jeremy Cresswell, played such an active role that I often describe him in terms such as All-Energy’s ‘midwife’. All-Energy is now the UK’s largest renewable and low carbon energy exhibition and conference in terms of number of attendees, space booked, and number of exhibiting companies. As AREG became firmly established, their presence and support for the event grew spectacularly over the years. We thank them most sincerely for their invaluable input.

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Vattenfall has forged a strong working relationship with AREG through the development of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. AREG has worked tirelessly on behalf of the North East and it can take enormous credit for the growth of sustainable energy in the region and the path it has cleared for the region to capture further investment.

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Aberdeen City and Shire is emerging as a key location for renewables by successfully transferring its world-class oil and gas expertise into the sector and AREG has done much to advance this through a broad range of initiatives. It has acted as a catalyst in driving further investment in the local economy by engaging with companies, Government, public bodies and existing projects and we have been pleased to support their efforts. Scottish Enterprise will continue to engage with AREG as we increase Scotland’s use of renewable energy.

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