We are happy to announce that we are seeking nominations for the Dissertation Prize Officer position on the QMRG committee. This is to replace the current Dissertation Prize Officer - Yijing Li - who is approaching the end of their term.
See below for Yijing’s experience of the role.
Dissertation Prize Officer Description
Having acquired more than decade-long of teaching experience in higher education, one thing that has stuck with me is the fantastic work that cohorts of undergraduate researchers are producing and contributing to the wider geographical knowledge. Both from within the confines of the discipline as human and physical geographers, to those who are not necessarily to a geography-related discipline, what this position does is provide you with the opportunity to be proactive in the celebration of this emerging research.
Expectations and Responsibilities
The role itself requires someone with good time management and organisational skills, as well as a passion for disseminating quantitative research, knowledge, and excellence. You will find that your responsibilities will predominantly come into play in the second half of the academic year, leaving you with the first half to work as you see fit.
The position has benefited from effective management, whereby a Dissertation Prize Schedule has been drafted to assist new position holders. This means that you are not stepping into the position with no content or context, and you will be able to plan and manage your time accordingly. In addition, your fellow QMRG members are all friendly and supportive, and will work with you if any challenges arise.
Below, I have outlined some of the key responsibilities attributed to the role:
- Attend committee meetings, which occur every four to six weeks;
- Manage the designated email address/inbox for the dissertation prize;
- Attend the QMRG dissertation Prize meeting, to discuss key topics in relation to the planning and running of the prize, i.e. assessment criteria, submission targets, celebrating previous winners, and so on;
- Communicate with the RGS to ensure the prize details are up to date and confirmed, ready for disseminating and advertising online;
- Advertise and actively promote the undergraduate dissertation prize (usually June-July), including distributing the call for submissions across various mailing lists, the QMRG website and social media platforms;
- Co-ordinate the allocation of judges, associated judging process and the judging criteria, in time for the announcement of the winner(s) at the annual general meeting (AGM).
- Decide key strategic decisions on the QMRG activities;
What did I get out of it?
Ultimately, this position has provided me with the opportunity to continue working alongside the undergraduate community and engage once again with the Royal Geographical society (RGS-IBG) as part of the QMRG. It is a fantastic opportunity and one I have thoroughly enjoyed. If you have any questions about the role and what it entails, please feel free to drop me an email at yijing.li@kcl.ac.uk.
How to Apply
Nominations for the available positions may include self-nominations and should be sent along with the name of a seconder (a current member of the committee) and a brief statement of suitability. Please send any nominations to QMRG secretary Qunshan Zhao (email: Qunshan.Zhao@glasgow.ac.uk) by 1st September 2025. Please reach out to any of our committee members with questions!
A full list of current committee positions and members can be viewed here.