Evie Duckworth wins prize in Oxford–Intesa Sanpaolo essay competition
Christ Church undergraduate Evie Duckworth has been awarded third prize in the Oxford–Intesa Sanpaolo Prize for Economics and Management, which recognises outstanding student writing on contemporary business challenges.
The annual competition invited second-year Economics and Management undergraduates to argue for or against the proposition that ‘companies are structurally unsuited to respond effectively to polycrisis’. The three winning essays were announced on 29 January at an awards ceremony held at Saïd Business School and hosted by the School’s Interim Dean, Professor Mette Morsing, in the presence of Economics and Management tutors and much of the second-year cohort.
Evie, who is in her second year of the Economics and Management degree at Christ Church, was recognised alongside Harishiga Ilangovan (first prize) and Ege Havlucu (second prize). The judges praised the high standard of the winning entries, which presented incisive, op-ed-style arguments from both sides of the debate.
Presenting the awards, Mauro Micillo, Chief of IMI Corporate and Investment Banking Division at Intesa Sanpaolo, highlighted the timeliness of the question. He noted that while businesses had previously been able to plan and invest in relatively stable conditions, ‘in a few short years that has all changed.’
It has been a pleasure to read and evaluate such a high-quality set of submissions on a theme that is relevant across the Economics and Management curriculum at Oxford.
It has been a pleasure to read and evaluate such a high-quality set of submissions on a theme that is relevant across the Economics and Management curriculum at Oxford.
The judging panel comprised Dr Pegram Harrison, Director of Oxford’s Economics and Management programme and Tutor in Management at Christ Church; Rupert Younger, Director of the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation and Tutor in Management at Jesus College; and Dr Hilary Hoyt, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Corporate Reputation. The three prize-winners received awards of £1,000, £500 and £250 respectively, with the first-prize winner also securing a summer internship at Intesa Sanpaolo’s London office.
Dr Pegram Harrison said: ‘It has been a pleasure to read and evaluate such a high-quality set of submissions on a theme that is relevant across the Economics and Management curriculum at Oxford. Evie and the other prize-winners therefore cleared a very high bar. On behalf of the judges, I would like to thank all who entered, as well as Intesa Sanpaolo and the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation for making the competition possible, and to congratulate Evie and her fellow award-winners.’
Reflecting on her success, Evie said: ‘I really enjoy reading opinion articles, so it was an honour to be recognised for my own ability to critically analyse current pressing issues in corporate strategy.’
Evie hopes to pursue a career in investment banking after completing her degree.
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