While public speaking might not be everyone’s favourite work activity, CIHT’s regional Emerging Professionals Presentation Competitions (EPPC) give participants the chance to showcase their passions and inform the wider transport industry about their work. According to Merlijn Marien, regional engagement officer at CIHT, they also test and encourage emerging professionals to develop the softer yet highly desirable skill of presenting.

“The EPPCs were established to support emerging professionals by providing them with a platform to present their work and an opportunity to earn recognition,” he says. “Entries are judged on both the quality of the content, as well as the delivery. A good presentation is one that showcases a clear, well-structured, data-driven and powerful narrative, delivered in a way that is accessible and interesting.”

Early opportunities

In Wales, Molly Green, an active travel graduate for Transport for Wales, was the winner of the 2026 CIHT Cymru Wales EPPC prize. She gave an impressive presentation on the installation of 40 cycle hangars at registered social landlord sites across Wales to improve access to cycling.

“A lack of secure cycle storage is a key barrier that stops more people from cycling,” she explains. “Many people in high-rise flats or dense housing don’t have secure places to store their bikes without carrying them upstairs or blocking hallways.”

Green found the overall experience of the competition to be incredibly valuable, especially as she’s in the early stages of her career. “It was a great opportunity to improve my presentation-writing and presenting skills,” she says. “Opportunities to present to large groups in person are limited for early career professionals, so I’m really glad I submitted a topic for this competition.

The art of presenting requires a number of different skills, from storytelling and commanding attention to persuading people to sit up and listen and responding to unpredictable technical questions. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity to develop these skills and put them into practice.”

Back your passion

Someone else who’s testament to the success of the EPCC is Lauren Allington, who won CIHT South West’s competition in 2024. Her presentation was on the engagement of young people in transport planning.

“This came up in my role as a transport planner a lot,” she explains. “We undertake consultation and engagement activities on transport schemes, and it became obvious that the number of responses we got from the under-25s was really low, whereas the other age groups were disproportionately overrepresented.”

Allington was named CIHT Emerging Professional of the Year in 2025, an achievement which the EPPC played a key role in. “Winning the EPPC helped to grow my profile in CIHT and meant I was able to build a network of people who saw my presentation,” she says. “That definitely helped to win the Emerging Professional award.”

The one piece of advice Allington has for others planning to enter next year’s EPPC is to back yourself. “Don’t be nervous or afraid to choose a topic you think might not be interesting, because the chances are that no one else has looked into it in as much detail as you,” she says. “Any kind of presentation on a new idea or topic you are interested in really can capture other people’s imagination.”

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