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[Deadline extended to Dec 31] 2nd David Farber Prize for Undergraduate Student Essays: Call for Participation

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8/31 Update: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we have not been able to advertise the prize announcement to our satisfaction. As a result, we decided to extend the deadline for submission to December 31, 2020. We hope this extension will allow you to develop high-quality contents further. Students who are expected to graduate in 2020 Autumn are still eligible to submit the application. Results will be announced in Jan 2021. We are looking forward to receiving your applications and please circulate with potential applicants.

6/26 Update: The deadline for submission is extended to August 31, 2020. We hope this extension would allow more students to develop high-quality contents during the summer break.


The 2nd David Farber Prize for Undergraduate Student Essay is calling for submission again!

The prize aims to encourage and stimulate discussion of various perspectives of the cyber civilization at the global level and, more importantly, to recognize and appreciate outstanding ideas from young researchers at the undergraduate level.

Best Papers will be awarded certificates and prizes of up to a total of ¥100,000. This year, we would like to call for paper on the topic:

Technology, Governance and Privacy – Are we living in 1984? 

“Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past”
– George Orwell, 1984

This is George Orwell’s famous quote that comes from the dystopian novel, “1984,” which unleashes the regime of a new form of governance – totalitarian surveillance state. Despite this novel being written in as early as 1948, the concept of “Big Brother” still prevails in this information era. Perhaps even more intensified with the emerging Internet-related technology. We are living in a namely, “everything-connected” world with all kinds of electronic devices attached to us tracing every bit of information.

With the outbreak of COVID-19, many countries adopt different levels of public health surveillance and contact traceability tools to monitor the transmission of the disease. The deployment of these kinds of technology definitely helps to flatten the curve of the coronavirus pandemic, yet it also means our lives are more vulnerable to data exposure and digital surveillance.

How much privacy do we really have? Do we actually own or control our data? The government? How are we close to the society of 1984? How could the novel, 1984 be re-written considering the contemporary technological capabilities?

Submission guidelines:

– Eligibility: Undergraduate students in all disciplines at Keio University

– Submission deadline: July 31, 2020 Extended to December 31, 2020

– Word limit and format: The essay should be less than 3000 words in English. Please include a title of the essay, author’s name, programme at Keio University, e-mail and submit in PDF

– Publications: Cyber Civilization Research Center reserves the right to make the best paper publicly available in both the CCRC and KGRI (Keio Global Research Institute) homepages

– Submissions and Inquiries e-mail: prize@www.ccrc.keio.ac.jp

Click here to download the poster

Click here to view the past prize highlight