2021 ESST European Undergraduate Essay Prize

The ESST Undergraduate Essay Prize is an annual prize of 500 € awarded to the best-submitted paper on some aspect of science, technology and society relations. The aim of the prize is to attract further aspiring young students to the interdisciplinary fields of Science and Technology Studies and Innovation Studies. Undergraduates from all fields of study attending any European university are eligible to apply.

Announcement: Winner of the 2021 ESST European Undergraduate Essay Prize

The winner of the 2021 ESST Prize is Emma O’Hare, University College Dublin for her paper ‘An Exploration of Online Activism on Instagram’. The paper offers an original and rewarding discussion of the affordances of Instagram for enabling new practices of ‘activist infographics’ combining graphic design and political activism. O’Hare traces a line of connection between WEB Du Bois’ use of colourful charts and graphs at the 1900 Paris Exposition to visualize black America and the Black Lives Matter movement’s use of the digital aesthetics of Instagram today.

The prize committee this year was:

  • Joeri Bruyninckx,  Maastricht University
  • Emmanouil Simos, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
  • Mark Elam, University of Gothenburg

2021 Instructions for Applicants
Applications should consist of a cover sheet (see below) completed and scanned, and a double-spaced pdf copy of the student essay. Essays should be between 2,000 and 3,000 words (in English). Applicants may not submit more than one piece of work. Applications should be emailed to Mark Elam (mark.elam@gu.se), the 2021 ESST Prize Coordinator. E-mail your essay by 31st July 2021 and expect confirmation of its acceptance within a week.

Download the Cover sheet

Past winners:

  • 2020 Ilse Dijkstra, Maastricht University
  • 2019 Anja Aune Selmer, Maastricht University
  • 2018 Jan Kleinheinrich, Maastricht University
  • 2017 Kevin Walton, University College Dublin
  • 2016 Oscar Emil Clemmensen, IT University of Copenhagen
  • 2015 Robin Schormans, Maastricht University
  • 2014 Sidsel Thaarup, IT University of Copenhagen
  • 2013 Frederick Thielen, Maastricht University
  • 2012 Alina Marktanner, Maastricht University
  • 2011 Miklós Horváth, Eötvös Loránd University