The St. Gallen Global Essay Competition is a global student essay competition, offering students who study at graduate or postgraduate level around the world the opportunity to apply for participation at the St. Gallen Symposium.

The Knowledge Pool is a group of Leaders of Tomorrow with a strong affiliation to topics of relevance to the St. Gallen Symposium. They show outstanding track records in the particular fields they work or study. They are hand-selected by the International Students’ Committee. It is not possible to apply for membership in the Knowledge Pool.

About the Essay

A professional, creative and thought-provoking essay is expected. Be bold, unconventional, and distinctive on the competition question.

Topic

Collaborative Advantage: What should be written into a new intergenerational contract?

The idea of a “generational contract” embodies the principles that younger and older generations rely on each other to provide mutual support across different stages of their lives. Inclusive education systems, sustainable welfare states and meaningful environmental action are some of many challenges requiring a cross-generational collaborative effort.

Yet, with the climate crisis, rapid technological change and societal ageing in many countries, the generational contract and notions of intergenerational fairness have been challenged. Members of the younger generation are raising their voices as they reflect on how their futures are being compromised by current decision-makers.

What’s your specific and actionable idea that should be written into a new generational contract? Choose an area where you see evidence that intergenerational fairness is – or, going forward, will be – challenged and where the generational contract needs to be rewritten.

Potential areas include, but are not limited to, business strategy and the economy, inclusive governance and education, the welfare state and health care, environmental sustainability, or the world of work.

Describe your problem and offer concrete and practical proposals how inter-generational fairness can be restored or reinvented. Explain your idea’s impact for the future.

Eligibility

• Enrolled in a graduate or postgraduate programme (master level or higher) in any field of study at a regular university
• Born in 1992 or later

Students on the bachelor level do not fulfil the eligibility criteria and therefore cannot enter the competition. There is no other way to apply for participation and we, therefore, encourage all students to join the competition once they pursue their studies at a graduate level*. You may, however, be eligible if the level of study in your current year is equivalent to the international graduate level which must be confirmed in writing by your university.

(*): A graduate degree is any degree that is above a bachelor’s degree. This includes a master’s degree or doctoral degree.

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 enrollment in a graduate/postgraduate level programme as of February 1, 2022 (download sample document here)
• Your contribution file with no indication of your name in the file name, the file metadata or the file itself

Prerequisites

FormEssay (A maximum of 2,100 words, excluding abstract, bibliography, and footnotes)LanguageEnglishDeadline1 February 2022, 11:59 PM last time zone (UTC-12)AnonymityYour name, e-mail address, university, or any identifying details must not be mentioned anywhere in the contribution file.IndividualityIndividual work is expected, no group work is allowed. The essay must be written exclusively for this contest. The idea must be the author’s own.CitationAll sources must be cited and referred to the respective part in the essay. All contributions will be tested for plagiarism.TemplateDownload Template for the Global Essay Competition

Format

Either doc, Docx or pdf format

The document must allow copying the text easily (no document protections).

Post-Submission Process

• The ISC will verify your eligibility and check all submitted documents for completeness and readability. Due to the large amount of essays they receive, their response may take some time.
• If the jury selects your essay in the top 100, you qualify as a Leader of Tomorrow for an expenses-paid participation in the 51st St. Gallen Symposium (May 5-6, 2022).
• The results will be announced via e-mail by mid-March 2022.
• In addition, there will be a chance for the very best competitors (including the awardees) to present their ideas on the big stage at the symposium. For this, the students will be asked to pitch their idea on video beforehand.

Awards

3 awardees will be selected by the jury based on the quality of the idea on paper.

The award is endowed with total prize money of CHF 20,000 (INR 16,28,894) divided between the 3 awardees.

Contact Information

E-mail ID: leadersoftomorrow@symposium.org

Click here to know more about the competition

‍