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Annual awards ceremony since 2015
The Prins Friso Ingenieursprijs is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of Engineers (KIVI) to an engineer who stands out in terms of expertise, innovative capacity, social impact, entrepreneurship and ambassadorship. This is how KIVI puts the engineers of the future and the engineering profession in the spotlight. The winner becomes an ambassador for engineering and all engineers and may call himself Engineer of the Year for a year.
Prince Friso
The award bears the name of Prince Friso, a brother of King Willem-Alexander and son of Princess Beatrix, patron of KIVI.
Prince Friso was an engineer in mechanical and aerospace engineering and a highly respected member of KIVI. Following Friso's far too early death in the summer of 2013, his widow Princess Mabel gave KIVI permission on behalf of the royal family to name the annual award for the best engineer after the prince.
Selection process
The selection process for the Prince Friso Ingenieur Prize involves four steps:
- Nominate - From 9 September to 14 November 2025, anyone can nominate their favourite for the prize, using the nomination form. You may nominate several people, including yourself.
- Initial assessment - An anonymous group of KIVI members will assess all entries and compile a top nine.
- Interviews - Three partner organisations conduct interviews with the selected engineers and determine the top 3 from these.
- Presentation to the professional jury - The three finalists present their work to a professional jury consisting of experts from the engineering world.
The winner will finally be announced at the Day of the Engineer on 11 March 2026.
All assessments take place on the basis of the selection criteria listed on this website.
