RGS Digital Geographies Research Group launches undergraduate dissertation prize

The Digital Geographies Research Group, a research group of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) has launched a new undergraduate dissertation prize. The prize, which is co-ordinated by Doug Specht will recognise excellence in digital geography, awarding the best undergraduate dissertation in any area of digital geography(1) which is based upon original research and demonstrates a high degree of critical analysis and/or innovate and sophisticated methodology.

The successful prize winner, as selected by the DGRG Committee will awarded a prize of £100 and will also have the opportunity to showcase their work through the DGRG website.

Dissertations should normally be of first-class standard and nominated by Heads of Department / dissertation supervisors as appropriate. Departments should not submit more than one dissertation for consideration. Only dissertations submitted during the 2020-21 academic year by students enrolled on an undergraduate degree programme at a university in Europe(2), and written in English, will be considered (this is not limited to a being a part of a geography department, but the dissertation should meet the prize’s definition of digital geography research(1)).

Submissions should follow the below guidelines:

1. a PDF file of the dissertation;
2. supporting statement (including final mark, feedback, and reasons for nomination);
3. an email address for the student that will be live after September 2021 (e.g. a personal email address where institutional addresses expire following graduation); and,
4. submissions and any enquiry should be sent to: d.specht@westminster.ac.uk (Doug Specht, University of Westminster).

Deadline 15^th July 2021

(1) While the concept of Digital Geography can take a more expansive definition, for the purposes of this prize Digital Geography dissertations are defined as geographies produced through, produced by, and of the digital (Ash et. al., 2016). We especially welcome works that seek to apply geographical ideas and methodologies to make sense of the digital, or that focus on how digital technologies and infrastructures are transforming the geographies of everyday life and the production of space. This may include, but is not limited to worked on;

• Digital technologies and ICTs in spatial domains
• Technology and augmented socio-spatial practices 
• Geographies of digital technologies
• the mapping of cyberspace
• charting the spatialities of social media
• tracing the generation and flows of big data
• Digital methods/methodologies
• Digital cultures
• Digital Geographies of race and ethnicity
• Digital economies
• Digital politics/activism
• Digital labour
• Digital subjects/ivities
• Digital geographies of gender and sexuality 
• Digital ethics
• Decolonised/ing digital geography
• Digital data
• Digital mobilities
• Digital philosophies 
• Digital practices 

(2) European countries are defined as EU/EEA countries, with the addition of Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Photo by NASA on Unsplash