RTS gives BBC’s Rosie Nieder Young Technologist of the Year 2026 award

Presented in memory of A.M. Beresford-Cook, the annual award aims to advance education in the science, technology, and art of television and its allied fields. Nieder was selected by a panel of industry judges chaired by Independent Consultant, Terry Marsh. As winner, she will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to IBC2026.

At the BBC, Nieder undertook a post-graduate apprenticeship in broadcast engineering. Training in the broadcaster’s location operations department, she worked on outside broadcasts before securing her current role as an Operational Production Engineer. During her training, she led and innovated on vision engineering plans for Traitors: Uncloaked and Radio 2’s Piano Rooms, and In Concert, as well as working on a range of successful programmes including Springwatch and Winterwatch. Following her apprenticeship, she has also taken on integration projects including the renewal of the Radio Theatre’s gallery system.

Nieder graduated from her apprenticeship with a distinction and a commendation from the Royal Aeronautical Engineering Society for her end-point assessment submission. An active member of the industry, Nieder has also run demonstrations of production techniques at The Big Bang Fair. Alongside this, she is part of the BBC’s mentor programme for new apprentices and its shortlisting team for recruitment of new talent to the industry.

The runner-up for the RTS Young Technologist of the Year Award – and recipient of the Coffey Award for Excellence in Technology 2026 – is Michael Grace, Platform Support Engineer at Red Bee Media. Grace began his career in student radio, before joining Red Bee Media as a Broadcast Engineer in playout for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5. In addition to day-to-day engineering support, he created and reviewed diagrams and guides for ITV’s channel migration onto their new IP-based playout platform. He is now working on issues that have made it to air by introducing new wiring, processing cards, and routing options, maintaining high-profile output for viewers.

Terry Marsh, Chair of the RTS Young Technologist of the Year Award Jury, stated: “The standard of this year's finalists was exceptionally high, making the judges' decision a challenging one. Rosie stood out through her combination of technical excellence, innovation, and clear potential to make a significant contribution to the future of our industry.”

Nieder commented: "I'm thrilled to be named the RTS Young Technologist of the Year for 2026. Receiving this award is a huge honour, and I'm incredibly grateful to the RTS and the judging panel for this recognition. I’d like to thank the incredible team at the BBC, who have supported me throughout my postgraduate apprenticeship, and continue to help me develop in my current role. I'd also like to thank my partner, family, and friends for their unwavering support, encouragement, and belief in me throughout this journey. I am excited to continue building my career in this ever-evolving industry, and I hope to use the opportunity this award provides to help inspire the next generation of broadcast engineers and support more young people as they begin their own journeys in our industry."

Established by the RTS with funds from the family of A.M. Beresford-Cooke, the Young Technologist Award was created to honour Beresford-Cooke’s contribution to the development of British broadcasting technology through his work on towers and masts for very high frequency (VHF) and ultra-high frequency (UHF) transmission.

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