Bill Blake Memorial Award
History and Purpose of the Award
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Bill Blake was the founder and co-chair of the Institute of Civil Protection and Emergency Management (ICPEM), who had a significant influence on the lives of those pursuing a career in civil protection and emergency management. To commemorate his commitment and dedication, the ‘Bill Blake Memorial Award’ was established with the following aims:
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To provide students studying a full-time course within a UK institution an opportunity to develop academically with research and critical study within the field of civil protection and emergency management;
To encourage students studying a full-time course at a UK institution and who have an interest in civil protection and emergency management to consider joining the Institute; and
To recognise the achievements and efforts of students, who have an interest in civil protection and emergency management, and wish to pursue a career in this field.
The Bill Blake Memorial Award is awarded annually for the best paper in response to a title provided by the Institute. The Award Committee, led by Dr Burcak Basbug Erkan and consisting of a panel of three academics with experience in civil protection and emergency management related roles, will independently review each eligible entry for quality and content and select the three best entries.
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Award Categories
The Institute annually awards three categories:
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First prize: £400
Second prize: £200
Third prize: £100
In addition to the monetary award, the winning entrant and two runners-up will each be presented with a certificate of achievement and a Gold, Silver or Bronze inscribed award medallion for 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes respectively.
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The winning entry will be published in the ICPEM journal ‘Alert’ and the authors of the three winning submissions will be presented their prizes at the ICPEM annual conference.
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Proposal for Academic Year: 2023/2024
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Universities with courses in civil protection, emergency, and disaster management
are invited to submit their two best selected essays of the academic year 2023-24.
Eligibility
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Essay authors must be either undergraduate or postgraduate students enrolled on a course in a UK Institution and have an interest in civil protection and/or emergency/disaster management. Should there be any doubt as to the eligibility of a student wishing to enter for the Award, the decision of the Academic Director is final.
Rules
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The submission should be a essay of between 2,000 and 3,000 words, written in English, with references cited using the Harvard referencing style.
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The text should be Times New Roman with a font size of 12 and a 1.5 line spacing.
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The student must be the sole author of the paper.
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Only one entry per person and two per university.
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The work must not have been submitted previously for any other award, presented at national or international meetings or published in full or in part in any medium.
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In order to avoid plagiarism, students should be careful when preparing their work that all source material is correctly referenced. Quotes and ideas from others can be included, as long as they are correctly attributed to the original source by referencing. Direct quotation should be indicated by the use of quotation marks; if not, even with an accompanying reference.
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Entries must be submitted as a ‘pdf’ document to the Academic Director. Applicants will receive an email response to confirm receipt of submission.
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Entries should include the name of the author and any contact details as well as those of the university.
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In order to ensure impartiality during the review and selection process, names will be removed from the papers. Therefore, authors will not be identified to the judging panel.
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The deadline for submissions is 30 July 2024. Submissions received after this time will not be considered.
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Winners will be contacted by email and entrants are responsible for providing the correct contact details.
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The decision of the assessors on both eligibility and the awards are final and not open to question or challenge.
Enquiries relating to the award and submission should be sent to the Academic Director, Dr Burcak Basbug Erkan at: burcak.erkan@theicpem.org
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