Deadline: February 1, 2016
St. Gallen Symposium invite all students studying on graduate level or higher to contribute to the world’s most prestigious essay competition, endowed with CHF 20,000 prize money and the St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award. Since its inception in 1989, tens of thousands of young academics have competed for this award from more than 1,200 universities in over 100 countries worldwide.
The Essay
Your essay must answer the following question: What are alternatives to economic growth? Leaders of Tomorrow have expressed skepticism towards economic growth as it stands today. Your are challenged to develop your alternative guidelines to the concept of growth. Present your own idea to convince the jury. Be bold and unconventional! The following criteria must be met:
Form | Essay (max. 2,100 words) |
Language | English |
Deadline | 1 February 2016, 11:59 p.m. last time zone (UTC-12) |
Anonymity | Your name must not be mentioned anywhere in the contribution file |
Individuality | Individual work expected, no group work allowed. The essay must be written exclusively for this contest |
Citation | All sources must be cited and referred to the respective part in the essay |
Eligibility Requirement
To be eligible, you must fulfil all of the following criteria:
- Enrolled in a graduate or postgraduate program (master level or higher) in any field of study at a regular university
- Born in 1986 or later
Awards/Prizes/Benefits
1.CHF 20,000.– prize money shared by the three winners
2. If the jury selects your essay in the top 100, you qualify as a Leader of Tomorrow for an expenses-covered participation in the 46th St. Gallen Symposium (11–13 May 2016). The results will be announced via e-mail by mid-March 2016. Benefits of attending this symposium includes:
- Join the debate with 600 top global leaders and decision makers
- Share your thoughts, ideas and visions with the global elite
- Expenses for travel, board and lodging covered, travel service provided
- Meet 200 of the world’s brightest young minds
- Small and intimate gatherings with world leaders, exclusively for the Leaders of Tomorrow
- Broad media coverage
- Become member of a truly unique and strong global community
How to Enter
Complete and submit the application form; be sure to attach your essay responses to the application.
Make sure you can provide the following documents:
- Copy of passport or other identification (in English for non-Roman languages)
- Confirmation of matriculation/enrolment from your university which proves your enrolment in a graduate/postgraduate level programme as of 1 February 2016 (download sample document here)
- Your contribution file with no indication of your name in the file name, the file metadata or the file itself
For more information, visit St. Gallen Symposium, see FAQs or e-mail your questions to [email protected].