Share your voice: IRMS New Professionals Award

- entries close 31 January 2026

Dear students, apprentices and new professionals,

What are you up to between now and 31 January 2026? How about sharing your thoughts on anything to do with Information, Data or Records?

If you’ve not come across it, the Alison North New Professionals Award was set up by Alison back in 2010 to support emerging talent in our profession. 2025 marked its 15th year and the award continues to recognise and champion new voices.

Over the last fifteen years, entrants have offered everything from light‑hearted reflections to deeper insights into how we do what we do. Every applicant adds value, winner or not, helping the profession see familiar challenges in new ways.

What’s new for 2026:

We’re making submissions more flexible. Previously, you had to write an 1,000 word article.

This year you can still submit a written piece or you can record one instead (audio or video). As long as your entry covers 1,000 words’ worth of content it’ll be accepted and shared with the panel for consideration.

Why bother?

We know you’re busy studying or finding your feet in new roles. But for a little time and creativity, successful entrants will receive:

• A funded place at the IRMS Conference 2026—a brilliant opportunity for content, networking and professional contacts. (IRMS 2026 is scheduled for 17–19 May at the Celtic Manor Resort, Wales.)
• Publication of your winning entry to our 1,000+ members, and sharing across our partner networks and the wider profession.
• Plus additional support to help you settle into—and thrive in—our fabulous profession.

So, ignore the inner imposter that says you’ve nothing to say. Set aside some time over Christmas and the New Year, and share your ideas.

For inspiration, our Patron, Scott Sammons, even interviewed recent winners on his podcast to explore why they applied—and why you should too.

(See https://theiglighthouse.podbean.com/e/special-episode-irms-new-professionals-award-carys-hardy/?token=dd9fdcd3d516c13f4874d8baca1c7b64 )

How to apply:

Deadline: 31 January 2026
Format: Written (1,000 words) or recorded (audio/video) equivalent
Details & submissions: https://irms.org.uk/professional-development/awards/new-professionals-award/

What’s stopping you?

Not a new professional yourself? Please share the application page with people who’d be a great fit and encourage them to apply—every little helps.

Best wishes,

Carys Hardy (She/Her)
Communications & Marketing Officer
Information and Records Management Society Ltd (IRMS)
Email: info AT irms.org.uk 

My source and list archives at: 
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=RECORDS-MANAGEMENT-UK

Cognitive apprenticeship . . .

INDIVIDUAL
|

 INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

"The learner builds an internal representation of knowledge or personal interpretation of experience. This representation is open to change as its structure and interconnections form the foundation upon which other knowledge structures can be scaffolded. Successive modes of representation are developed as a person's expertise increases, and the building block for this development is the accumulation of individual cases (Boshuizen, 2013).  . . . The constructivist theory of learning does not accept the premise that different types of learning can be identified independent of the context and content of learning. . . . Cognitive apprenticeship, which reflects the collaboration between real-world problem solving and using appropriate strategies in problem-solving situations, is the key to construvist learn (Brown, Collins and Duguid, 1989; Resnick, 1987)." p.96.

'Cumulative experience' TI:ME

"Conceptual growth comes from sharing multiple perspectives and simultaneously changing our internal representations in response to those perspectives as well as through cumulative experience." p.96.

Practice hours requirement

Zwozdiak-Myers, Paula. (2012). The Teacher's Reflective Practice Handbook: Becoming an Extended Professional through Capturing Evidence-Informed Practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. 

https://www.routledge.com/The-Teachers-Reflective-Practice-Handbook-Becoming-an-Extended-Professional/Zwozdiak-Myers/p/book/9780415597586

Herbert Spencer: The Sociology domain

 INDIVIDUAL

|

 INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

"In man we see the highest manifestation of this tendency. By virtue of his complexity of structure, he is furthest removed from the inorganic world in which there is least individuality. Again, his intelligence and adaptability commonly enable him to maintain life to old age - to complete the cycle of his existence; that is, to fill out the limits of his individuality to the full. Again, he is self-conscious; that is, he recognizes his own individuality." p.238.

"Spencer's key concept was 'evolution', by which he meant the process of increasing differentiation (that is to say specialization of functions) and integration (by which he meant mutual interdependence of the structurally differentiated parts and co-ordination of their functions.)" p.8. "Here we see longitudinal and transverse integration going on simultaneously; ..." p.66.

"Having invented the word sociology, Comte is often treated as the founder of the study itself, although his contribution to empirical knowledge is meagre, and cannot be even remotely equated with that of Montesquieu or John Millar. His excellence lies in methodology in which field he laid the foundations for the systematic (or scientific, if you like) study of society." p.15.

"There is no sudden leap from the house-hold type to the factory-type, but a gradual transition. The first step is shown us in the rules of trade-guilds under which, to the members of the family, might be added an apprentice (possibly at first a relation), who, as Brentano says, 'became a member of the family of his master, who instructed him in his trade, and who, like a father, had to watch over his morals, as well as his work'; practically, an adopted son. ... With  development of this modified household-group, the master grew into a seller of goods made, not by his own family only, but by others; and, as his business enlarged, necessarily ceased to be a worker, and became wholly a distributor - a channel through which went out the products, not as a few sons, but of many unrelated artisans." pp.135-136.

Herbert Spencer, Stanislav Andreski, (1971) Herbert Spencer : structure, function, and evolution. London: Nelson.

As you can tell - I'm still sorting through books!

See also (recently):
Medical sociology ... "food for thought" c/o POHG