The Global Essay Competition is the main route for graduate and postgraduate students worldwide to join the St. Gallen Symposium as a “Leader of Tomorrow.” Run by the student-led International Students’ Committee (ISC) of the University of St. Gallen, it invites a short essay responding to a set annual prompt. Around 100 authors of the strongest essays are invited to St. Gallen, Switzerland, for several days of cross-generational debate with senior leaders, and the three overall winners share prize money. The 2026 edition (55th Symposium) asked entrants to address “Disruption in Tech + Politics + Demography: What happens when they collide?”
Benefits & funding
- Selected essay authors attend the St. Gallen Symposium as Leaders of Tomorrow with travel, board and lodging covered.
- Free local public transport in St. Gallen during symposium week; accommodation in private student flats.
- Prize money of CHF 20,000 split among the three winners.
- Opportunity for top entrants to present their idea on the symposium stage and to build a cross-generational network of leaders.
Eligibility
- Enrolled in a graduate or postgraduate programme (master’s level or higher) at a regular university — one that conducts research and offers at least one PhD programme — and matriculated as of the competition deadline.
- Born in 1996 or later for the 2026 cycle (roughly age 30 or under; the birth-year cut-off shifts by one year each edition).
- Open to students of any nationality and any field of study.
- Essays are written in English.
Can you apply?
Worth a closer look
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Education required
Master Enrolled · PhD Enrolled
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Age requirement
≤ 30 yrs
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We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Register on the competition portal at symposium.org and complete your profile.
- 2Write an essay of at most 2,100 words (plus a 200–300 word abstract) responding to the annual prompt; cite all sources and remove any identifying information from the file.
- 3Upload the essay (doc, docx or PDF), a copy of your passport or government ID, and confirmation of matriculation before the deadline.
- 4Results are announced by mid-March; selected authors are then invited to the symposium.
Program timeline
Submission deadline for the 55th Symposium cycle (11:59 p.m., last time zone UTC-12)
Feb 1, 2026
Results announced
2026 mid-March
55th St. Gallen Symposium
May 5, 2026 to May 7, 2026
The deadline above is the most recent (55th) cycle. As of this writing the organisers had not published the 56th-cycle essay topic, opening date or deadline; entries for 2027 are not yet open.