Congratulations to Bayly Drinnan, Lucy Farrell and Kayla Howard-Tripp – three of our final year undergraduate students – who all received Distinguished Delegate awards at the 2026 Model NATO competition in London, organised by the British International Studies Association (BISA) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

During the event in the FCDO’s historic Locarno Suite, teams from 30 universities were tasked with representing the 32 NATO member states in debates and discussions on NATO policy on regional defence and security priorities and on the scope and scale of NATO’s next major military exercise. The focus was on negotiating the language of two declarations.

After an intense day representing Albania in the work of the NATO’s North Atlantic Council (NAC) and Military Committee (MC), proposing and negotiating amendments and pushing other representatives of the other 31 delegations into reaching agreement, the efforts of Bayly on the NAC and Lucy and Kayla in the MC were duly recognized in securing two of the six awards that BISA/FCDO. 

Bayly’s reflections on the day and the preparations:

"Admittedly, I was initially apprehensive about being given such a small country to represent. However, after several meetings with my amazing teammates and our fantastic mentor, David Phinnemore, I knew that despite our small size, the Delegation of Albania would be a force to be reckoned with. 

“I realised that, much in the spirit of the NATO alliance, our size or military capacity were not the defining factors of our performance, but that it was the way in which we advocated for our national interests, reflected our foreign policy and coordinated with other delegations that really mattered. This was proven to be true in the Distinguished Delegate awards we received.

“As someone who one day hopes to work in diplomacy, international security and foreign affairs, this was an invaluable opportunity to see what my future could look like. Beyond the indispensable procedural experience of the model, I also made so many wonderful connections with people from across the country who share my enthusiasm for international relations and global security.”

For Kayla:

"Participating in Model NATO in London was an incredibly valuable experience that strengthened skills essential for my future career and academic studies, particularly in clear communication, diplomacy, and research. Representing Albania on the Military Committee, I was responsible for negotiating the logistics of a military exercise, which developed my confidence in presenting positions and working towards collective solutions. Equally, collaborating with my teammates made the experience especially meaningful, as our shared commitment, coordination, and support were central to our success. I would highly recommend Model NATO, organised in the spirit of NATO, to any student offered the opportunity, and it will remain one of my best memories at Queen's University Belfast."

And Lucy:

'As a Politics and Quantitative Methods undergraduate, the opportunity to take part in Model NATO was indisputably valuable in attempts to broaden my understanding of diplomacy in the geopolitical arena. Representing Albania on the Military Committee, I engaged in rigorous debates on collective security, military operations and crucially, worked towards consensus. At a time when continued aggression and instability across the Middle East and Eastern Europe shape the international landscape, this event felt especially poignant, highlighting the real-world importance of multilateral cooperation and allyship. Contributing to a winning delegation was a particularly meaningful achievement, and I can only thank my teammates Kayla and Bayly, and QUB professors, David Phinnemore and Alister Miskimmon.”