Deadline for applications: February 1, 2018
We live in times where healthy debates driven by tomorrow’s generation are needed more than ever. 600 Leaders of Today will join 200 Leaders of Tomorrow at the 48th St. Gallen Symposium from 2–4 May 2018 to debate «Beyond the end of work» in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Compete for the St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award and qualify for participation as a «Leader of Tomorrow» in the world’s premier opportunity for intergenerational debates: The St. Gallen Symposium.
- 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
- Celebrate the symposium’s 30th competition since 1989
- CHF 30,000.– prize money shared by the three winners
- 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
Qualify with an excellent essay.
The Symposium expects a professional, creative and thought-provoking essay. Be bold, unconventional, and distinctive on the following competition question:
Robots are coming for your job. How do you augment yourself to stay economically relevant?
Author Yuval Noah Harari claims that the rapid progress of artificial intelligence technology will render the human species economically useless within decades. Imagine a world in which humans fight back, harnessing AI and other technologies to stay economically indispensable – and, ultimately, competitive against the computers. Describe the job you aspire to in the future, how it will potentially be influenced by AI, and how you would augment yourself technologically if necessary to prevail in your chosen career.
The following criteria must be met:
| Form | Essay (max. 2,100 words) |
| Language | English |
| Deadline | 1 February 2018, 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. The idea must be the author’s own. |
| Citation | All sources must be cited and referred to the respective part in the essay. All contributions will be tested for plagiarism. |
Check your eligibility and prepare documents.
To be eligible, you must fulfill 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 1988 or later
Make sure you can provide the following documents:
- Copy of passport or other identification (in English for non-Roman languages)
- Confirmation of matriculation/enrollment from your university which proves your enrollment in a graduate/postgraduate level programme as of 1 February 2018 (download sample document here)
- Your contribution file with no indication of your name in the file name, the file metadata or the file itself
Impress the Jury.
All contributions will be evaluated equally according to a specific set of criteria by an independent jury composed of professors, corporate executives, and entrepreneurs. The authors of the best 100 contributions qualify as Leaders of Tomorrow and will be invited by the ISC to the next St. Gallen Symposium. The very best competitors will have the chance to present and discuss their ideas on the symposium’s big stage and also in other conferencing formats. The award will be bestowed to the three best competitors, the selection will be based upon the quality of the essays only.