The 2024 Southeast Asia Institute Student Essay Prize recognises the best essay written in response to one of the Institute’s 2023 flagship activities: either the published essays from the Regional Geopolitical Update or the interview recordings from the Southeast Asianists Limited Series. These two sets of resources showcase the work of key academics and experts focused on Southeast Asia, and contribute to our understanding of where the region is heading and how better to study the region. The competition was open to current undergraduate, Honours, or Masters students from any discipline at ANU.
This Prize aims to: (a) promote the value of studying Southeast Asia to a new generation of scholars; and (b) recognise the contributions of leading scholars from ANU and from the region to the continuing study of Southeast Asia through innovative analytical approaches and/or thorough empirical research.
Prize criteria
- The essay must respond to only one set of outputs, either the published essays and recordings from the 2023 Regional Geopolitical Update or the videos from the Southeast Asianists series."
- The essay can be comprehensive (addressing all the publications or the whole video series), or it can be selective (addressing a group of essays or videos, providing an explanation for the particular selection).
- The essay should be reflective and analytical. Reference to related academic material is encouraged.
- The winning essay will be assessed in terms of: 1) depth/breadth of reflection and analytical response; 2) quality of writing and expression; and 3) interest in relating to broader questions or fields.
- Submissions must be between 3,000 and 5,000 words (excluding bibliography).
- Essays must follow ANU policies on student assessment and academic integrity.
- Any standard academic referencing style may be adopted, but must be used consistently.
2024 Prize Committee: Professor Evelyn Goh, Dr Maria Tanyag, and Mr Emirza Syailendra.
Inaugural Southeast Asia Institute Student Essay Prize 2023
Winner of the inaugural ANU Southeast Asia Institute Student Essay Prize 2023