Mechanical engineer Martijn Otten is the winner of the Prins Friso Ingenieursprijs 2026. The director of print technology company AV Flexologic, also the technical brains behind the NGO Protect Ukraine, was presented with the prize on Wednesday at TU Eindhoven. The award for the best student team went to Project March from TU Delft, which designs and builds advanced exoskeletons.

It was the twelfth time that engineering society KIVI presented the Prins Friso Ingenieursprijs. Princess Mabel, widow of Friso, who died in 2013, presented the award and Princess Beatrix, patron of the Royal Institute of Engineers(KIVI), also attended the award ceremony. Countess Zaria, youngest daughter of Mabel and Friso, was also present for the first time. She herself is now studying at Delft University of Technology, her father's alma mater.

Otten can now call himself the Engineer of the Year for a year. The unanimous professional jury, led by shipbuilder Thecla Bodewes, praised him for his authenticity and his exceptional commitment to the engineering profession, while also emphasising how Otten links technical excellence to entrepreneurship and social responsibility. For example, he plays a key role in Protect Ukraine, an NGO providing large-scale aid to Ukraine.

Winnaar Martijn Otten (midden), geflankeerd door KIVI-directeur Pascal van der Molen, de prinsessen Beatrix en Mabel en KIVI-president Diana van den Heuvel. Foto: KIVI

Aquadrones for Ukraine

Since 2024, Otten has been leading a team of volunteers making unmanned boats on behalf of Protect Ukraine, which are successfully used for resupply, rapid evacuations or other high-risk missions. As technical project leader and system architect, the Delft alumnus went along to Ukraine to test the aquadrones with the soldiers. Based on this, he made the design more robust easier to repair.

'Otten combines technical depth with practically scalable applications,' the jury said. The jury also appreciated his future-oriented initiative Engineers for Impact, with which he wants to connect experts to social issues and get young people excited about engineering. The motto: less talk, more action.

The audience award was won by civil engineer Martine Stam of architecture and engineering firm Sweco and member of the Delta Technology Taskforce, which advises clients on behalf of market stakeholders. As design leader, she is involved in future-proof and sustainable dyke reinforcements in the river area, in which the use of area-specific soil in particular is leading. The third finalist was environmental technologist and entrepreneur Kirsten Steinbusch, who advocates bio-based raw materials.

Project MARCH

The KIVI Engineering Student Team Award, intended for the best team of engineering students, was for Project MARCH. That team, a non-profit open source Dream Team from TU Delft, is working on innovative exoskeletons to help people with spinal cord injury in particular regain some of their mobility.

The team combines "technical complexity and social value", said the jury, which noted that the professional level and clear vision for the further development of the technology exceed that of traditional student teams.

The teams EduQuation, which uses games to make quantum technology understandable, and Fomula Student Team Delft, which designs and builds racing cars, had also made it to the final.

Portrait: Bianca SIstermans