Winner of the DGRG Dissertation Prize 2024: Benjamin Thompson 

We are delighted to announce that the winner of our 2024 Dissertation Prize is Benjamin Thompson from the University of Nottingham.

His dissertation, ‘DIY Sovereignty? Asserting Physical-Digital Autonomy in Deptford Creek, London’, examines how community-owned Wi-Fi networks become entangled with the spatial practices and politics of the communities in which they are established. Focusing on the EU-funded MAZI project, a community-owned network which ran from 2016 until late 2018 in Deptford Creek, London, Benjamin’s research considered what functions the network provided for communities, how space was constituted and mediated through it, and the implications MAZI had for citizenship and power relations within Deptford.

Benjamin’s dissertation scored highly in all our assessment criteria. However, reviewers particularly praised the originality of the chosen topic, the contribution that the dissertation’s findings make within the field, and the way Benjamin’s findings are discussed throughout the work.

Benjamin will have an opportunity to share more about his work via our channels over the coming months. Stayed tuned for this and for news of our 2025 Dissertation Prize offering.

Meanwhile, you can watch a recorded conversation with our 2023 Dissertation Prize winner Lucas Evans here, which discusses his research on the Forest app, a popular productivity app that enables users to support forest restoration.