Deadline: February 1, 2018

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. They expect 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 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.

Benefits

• 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;
• Participate in 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.

Eligibility

To be eligible, you must fulfil all of the following criteria:

• Be enrolled in a graduate or postgraduate program (master level or higher) in any field of study at a regular university;
• You are 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/enrolment from your university which proves your enrollment in a graduate/postgraduate level programme as of February 1, 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

Entry Requirement

• Essay should be maximum of 2,100 words;
• Must be written in English;
• Your name must not be mentioned anywhere in the contribution file;
• Individual work expected, no group work allowed. The essay must be written exclusively for this contest. The idea must be the author’s own;
• All sources must be cited and referred to the respective part in the essay. All contributions will be tested for plagiarism

Application

• Begin your application by registering here.
• Login your competition account, skim over the application form and read the terms and conditions of the competition;
• Complete the application form and hand in your contribution no later than Monday, February 1, 2018 (23:59 p.m. last time zone).

For more information, see FAQ or visit St Gallen Symposium Essay Competition.