Middle East Consultant (MEC) has announced that it has extended the deadline for nominations for the 2022 Middle East Consultant Awards (MEC Awards) to 18 November 2022. While the nominations deadline has been extended, the awards gala will take place – as previously planned – on 7 December 2022 in Dubai at The Ritz-Carlton JBR, the editorial team confirmed.
The eight annual edition of the consultant focused awards event will again honor the region’s top firms, individuals and projects. 25 awards are up for grabs across diverse categories including: Architectural Company of the Year; Cost Consulting Company of the Year; Company of the Year; Dispute Resolution Champion of the Year; Gender & Ethical Employment Champion of the Year, and many others. See all the categories here.
Discussing the reasoning behind the date extension with Middle East Construction News (MECN), Paul Godfrey, Editor of Middle East Consultant stated, “There is no doubt that the MEC Awards gather momentum every year, and a key feature here is not only the sheer volume of entries, but the steadily increasing quality. In order to submit the best possible nominations, many leading companies asked for a little more time, and – in fairness to the sector – we decided to extend the deadline to 18 November. Please note, though, that there cannot be any further extensions beyond this point.”
As before, there is no cost to submit nominations for the 2022 Middle East Consultant Awards, however nominations must be made through the awards’ dedicated website. Companies whose nominations make the judges’ shortlist will be contacted by MEC’s commercial team to discuss attendance to the gala dinner.
Re-emphasising what companies should do to stand out during the judging process, Godfrey remarks, “Companies must follow the nomination instructions closely and beyond this, there are three factors that entrants should focus on to produce an effective nomination. First, they must focus on work that has been under way for at least six months, and they should try to include as many client testimonials as possible. Ideally, these should each be signed and stamped. Lastly, it’s vital to attach as much descriptive information as possible – conceptual drawings, a narrative clearly outlining the purpose and context of the project; and photographs of work to date.”
As far as what companies should avoid doing so their nomination is not immediately disqualified by the event’s panel of judges, Godfrey responds, “There are several key protocols; firstly, please don’t include an old project completed prior to one calendar year ago; don’t submit an incomplete project outline with only a few lines of explanation, and most importantly of all, truthfully describe the extent of the work you are responsible for – if you exaggerate, you can and will be found out.”
Read about who made the shortlist at the 2021 Middle East Consultant Awards here, whilst the victorious few can be read about here.