Postgraduates awarded research prizes

St John’s students recognised in fields of English, Law and Politics

Three postgraduate students at St John’s have been awarded prizes by UK and international bodies to recognise and support their research.

Lewis Roberts, a second-year PhD candidate and Supervisor in English, has won a Stephen Copley Research Award from the British Association of Romantic Studies.

Maxence Rivoire, a second-year PhD student in Law, came first in the Nappert Prize in International Arbitration awarded by the Faculty of Law at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

Jack Liddall, who is a new postgraduate this term studying for an MPhil in Politics and International Studies, won the 2022 Parliaments Undergraduate Essay competition run by the UK Political Studies Association (PSA) Specialist Group on Parliaments. Jack was nominated for the prize while studying for his Masters in History and Politics at The University of Edinburgh.

The Copley Research Award was awarded for Lewis’s work on the manuscripts of Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Postgraduates and early career scholars working in the area of Romanticism are invited to apply for the awards to fund research expenses up to £500. Lewis’s research has subsequently been recognised by the Wordsworth Trust in Grasmere, the former home of William Wordsworth, a St John’s alumnus.

“I have been invited to present my research to the Trust, where several of the manuscripts are held,” explained Lewis, who is Vice President of the College’s SBR postgraduate committee. “This is a real honour.”

Lewis will join several speakers to explore the emotional, creative and social stories behind their favourite manuscripts in the Wordsworth Trust’s collection at Grasmere in an online event entitled Close-up with Manuscripts on Thursday 8 December.

During the event, Lewis, whose PhD is on the value of line-endings in poetry of the long 19th century and manuscript revision, will focus on the drafts of what became Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Dejection: An Ode. Tickets for Close-up with Manuscripts, which takes place from 6-7.30pm GMT on 8 December, cost £5 and can be booked online.

The Nappert Prize in International Arbitration, administered by McGill University, is a biennal and prestigious essay competition that invites young scholars and legal practitioners all over the world to submit unpublished papers on commercial arbitration or investment arbitration. The prize is made possible by Sophie Nappert, a noted London-based arbitrator in independent legal practice.

Maxence has received CAD $4,000 for his winning essay, ‘The Law Applicable to the Arbitrability of Registered Industrial Property Rights’. He was also invited to present his paper in-person at a symposium hosted by the Faculty of Law at McGill University on 18 October along with his two fellow prize-winners, when he won a further CAD $1,000 award for Best Oralist.

His PhD research focuses on the interplay among international arbitration, private international law, and intellectual property. His prize-winning paper was based on his doctoral research, particularly the work he conducted during the first year of his PhD.

“I wrote most of my paper in the inspiring environment of St John’s,” said Maxence. “I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the College for providing such excellent study conditions to its students.”

Jack’s first place entry in the Parliaments Undergraduate Essay Competition is for his paper, ‘Compare the effectiveness of the Scottish Parliament’s committees and the House of Commons’ Public Bill Committees in influencing government bills’. He has won £100 and went along to receive his prize and certificate at the PSA Parliaments Annual Conference on Friday 4 November in Birmingham.

Jack said he was ‘over the moon’ to have won the award, adding: “I am especially excited considering that I am furthering this research in my postgraduate studies at Cambridge.”

The award-winning students will each receive a letter of congratulations from Heather Hancock, Master of St John's College.

Published 9/11/2022

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