Warwick Economics Summit 2021

Last month I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Warwick Economics Summit 2021. This year was a bit different from usual because the entire thing was run online but that didn't stop it from being one of the most interesting and though-provoking weekends I've had in a long time. In some ways the online format actually made it even better than I think it could've been in person. Nearly 3,000 delegates attended in total from over 170 different countries.

The event ran for three days, from Friday the 5th of February to Sunday the 7th. I attended as an Aberdeen University delegate, along with a handful of other members of the Aberdeen Economics and Business Society. To become a delegate I had to submit a written application to the society detailing why I wanted to attend and why I should be selected. I didn't know a lot about the event at that point, only that it was one of the biggest student-run economics conferences in Europe. As an economics student, I felt the event would be beneficial in giving me an insight into the real world applications of economics but, beyond that, I wasn't expecting too much. Needless to say, the event far surpassed my expectations.

There was a wide range of talks from world leaders, activists, politicians, economists and people of interest from all around the world. Speakers included president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, CEO of the Financial Times John Ridding, Queen Rania of Jordon, highest ranked female chess player of all time Judit Polgár, former European commissioner for climate change Connie Hedegaard and many many more.

Talks ran all day every day over the weekend with only one talk on at a time giving the option to attend everything if you wished. There were also talks and networking events run by sponsoring companies offering careers insight and advice. Most talks were focused on the most relevant subjects of today: the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit, changing technology, integrity of the press, the climate crisis and workplace diversity.

My favourite session was a discussion on climate change between Mary Robinson and Kehkashan Basu. It was fascinating and inspiring to listen to two women from different generations discuss such a pressing issue. They explained the things they were doing and/or planned to do to take action against climate change and offered real solutions to a problem that is so often talked about hypothetically. I was very impressed by their passion for the topic and the lengths each was going to to bring about change. I was particularly inspired by Kehkashan Basu who is the same age as me and has already accomplished so much.

Another of my favourite sessions was an interview with former Brexit secretary David Davis. Unlike climate change, I know very little about politics and I would have to say it is not a subject that generally interests me. However it was surprisingly interesting to hear David Davis' views on current affairs. He gave very insightful answers on the topic of Brexit and I learnt a lot. I thought he was an excellent speaker and explained everything in a very clear way that I could easily follow without knowing a great deal about the subject.

Overall, I would strongly encourage anyone who has the chance to attend this conference to embrace the opportunity and I certainly hope to be able to return in future years. I feel I learnt so much about the current issues of today and got to listen to so many influential people from all over the world. I got the chance to see the many varied applications of economics at work in fields ranging from politics to journalism to human development to banking. Many thanks to the team at Warwick University for organising such a fantastic event for young people!

#WES2021