28 April 2022

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Against a backdrop of continuing pandemic-related impacts on higher education, it has been both encouraging and inspiring to read the entries in this year’s Responsible Business and Management Writing Competition. The PRME Chapter UK and Ireland and Oxford Brookes University are delighted to announce the very worthy winners in this sixth year of the competition. Announcing the 2022 results, Dr Jonathan Louw, Chapter Chair and Oxford Brookes competition organiser, has applauded the winners, other finalists and indeed all entrants on “the creative, thoughtful and often provocative ways in which they have addressed an impressive array of sustainability, responsibility and ethical challenges”.  He has also praised “the committed contributions of this year’s 11 volunteer judges from 11 different universities (listed below), whose investment of time and thought have led to a rigorous and fair judging process”.

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The Undergraduate (UG) judging panel have reported how impressed they were by the quality and diversity of the undergraduate submissions this year. Students addressed a wide range of highly relevant topics from ethical tourism to edible insects; sustainable fashion to responsible entrepreneurship. The first prize in the UG essay category is awarded to Natasha Donkin of the University of Durham. Co-Chairs of the UG Panel, Angie Lench and Dr Laura Steele, praised her “exemplary piece of work that demonstrated deep critical insight in relation to 'The Struggle to Make Fashion Sustainable'”. The second prize is won by Alexe Eames (Sheffield Hallam University) for an examination of the need for responsible and ethical business in the Wholesale Foods Industry. The third prize goes to Natasja Lowe (Oxford Brookes University) for an investigation that addressed the question, ‘Are Consumers Eating Responsibly?’

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The winner of the first prize in the postgraduate (PG) essay category is Anushka Patil, of the University of the Arts London. Reflecting on Anushka’s winning entry, Dr Karen Cripps, PG Panel Chair, commended her “penetrating analytical eye and excellent primary data gathering” in relation to her insights into the transparency of sustainability claims at the fashion brand Zara. Ruth Kilsby of the University of Bath wins the second prize for her application of Kantian ethics to the morality of the decision made by a law firm to represent ExxonMobil in a climate-related lawsuit in 2019.  The third prize is awarded to Akshatha Bhaskaran, also of the University of Bath, for an investigation into the ‘Moral Case for keeping Furlough Money: An Ethics of Duty Analysis of Penguin Random House’.

 

In the category of Alternative Media (AM), Queen’s University Belfast has once again made a strong showing in the form of first prize-winner Lydia McAlister’s video titled ‘OnlyFans: A breakthrough for the destigmatisation of sex work, or just another opportunity for exploitation?’. Dr Amir Keshtiban, Chair of the AM Panel, praised an “insightful analysis and thought provoking reflection on a highly topical subject”. In second place is Hannah Stephens from Glasgow University with a visual diary addressing how equality, diversity and inclusion practices and approaches speak to “the pivotal and historic social event of the #MeToo Movement”.  As there were substantially fewer entries in this category than in the other two (a contrast to last year), the panel has decided to award only two prizes in 2022.  The panel and competition organisers hope for renewed interest in this category next year.

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For further information

This sixth annual competition received entries from the 17 institutions listed in the table below. The organisers would like to thank most sincerely all those staff who encouraged entries. Any enquiries about the results can be directed to Dr Jonathan Louw at prme@brookes.ac.uk

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Please copy any local publicity about the prize-winners to our Twitter feed: @PRME_UKI

For more information about the PRME Chapter UK and Ireland see: https://www.unprme.org.uk/

 

FULL PRIZE-WINNER LIST

Undergraduate Category

First Prize          (£500)

Natasha Donkin

University of Durham

Download Natasha's work HERE

 

Second Prize     (£300)

Alexe Eames

Sheffield Hallam University

 

Third Prize         (£100)

Natasja Lowe

Oxford Brookes University

Download Natasja's work HERE

 

Other Undergraduate Finalists (in alphabetical order)

Said Ali (University of Brighton) - Download Said's work HERE; Annabel Brookes (University of Durham); Radeena Dheensa (Aston University); Adam Garnett (University of Winchester) - Download Adam's work HERE; Sophie Hurst (Oxford Brookes University) - Download Sophie's work HERE; Anna Schwinge (Oxford Brookes University) - Download Anna's work HERE; Chloe Spinks (Oxford Brookes University); Grace Walshaw (Sheffield Hallam University). 

 

Postgraduate Category

First Prize         (£500)

Anushka Patil

University of the Arts London

Download Anushka's work HERE

 

Second Prize    (£300)

Ruth Kilsby

University of Bath

Download Ruth's work HERE

 

Third Prize        (£100)

Akshatha Bhaskaran

University of Bath

Download Akshatha's work HERE

 

Other Postgraduate Finalists (in alphabetical order)

Sophia Eyo (University of Winchester) - Download Sophia's work HERE, Thomas Givens (University of Bath)

Alternative Media Category

First Prize          (£500)

Lydia McAlister

Queen's University Belfast.

 

Second Prize     (£300)

Hannah Stephens

University of Glasgow

Other Alternative Media Finalists

Patrick Casement (Queen’s University Belfast)

 

PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS

Many thanks to the staff who encouraged entries from the 17 institutions below.

 

Aston University

Glasgow Caledonian University

Nottingham Trent University

Oxford Brookes University

Queen's University, Belfast

University of the Arts London

University of Birmingham

University of Brighton

University of Durham

University of Hertfordshire

University of Newcastle

University of Winchester

Royal Holloway University of London

Sheffield Hallam University

University of Glasgow

University of Southampton

University of Bath

University of Surrey

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Prize-winners and finalists were this year drawn from 10 of the above institutions.