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Imperial College Business School and Discover Economics are working together to increase the diversity of economics students.
The Discover Economics initiative is aimed at students from state schools and the workshops are designed to inspire young people to consider economics as one of their post-16 or post-18 options, whether that is at university or through an apprenticeship. We offer one-off workshops, bookable by teachers/school coordinators for groups in Year 10 and Year 12 – scroll down to find out more!
What are Discover Economics workshops?
Discover Economics workshops are interactive sessions designed to introduce students to the world of economics in an engaging way. The workshops aim to break down the barriers that often make economics seem intimidating or irrelevant. By focusing on real-world applications and issues, the workshops help students understand how economics impacts their daily lives and understand the global issues they care about such as climate change, inequality and the cost of living.
Who leads our Discover Economics workshops?
Our workshops are led by BSc Economics, Finance and Data Science Student Ambassadors. Our ambassadors are knowledgeable about economics and passionate about sharing their interest for the subject with younger students. Student Ambassadors are provided with the subject content beforehand, and they have all the essential training like presenting information and safeguarding.
What do the workshops cover?
Each workshop is carefully crafted to be both educational and engaging. School or college coordinators can select their preference of subject areas that they feel their students would find interesting. This includes topics such as:
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Climate change,
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the cost of living,
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wealth inequality,
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the gender pay gap,
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panic buying,
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and video games and violent behaviour.
Our workshops include a short introduction of Student Ambassadors, real world applications and issues in economics, and information about careers in economics. The workshops last about 1 hour and are interactive, so students participate in discussions and problem-solving exercises.
“The session went down well with our students and the Q&A at the end was really useful as they had a range of questions such as 'how does technology affect the validity of data when looking at causality' to 'How quantitative is the course?'. The three students did an excellent job answering each question in details.” Teacher from St Mary’s and St John’s CE School
We want to make economics more accessible
The purpose of Discover Economics workshops are to:
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broaden the appeal of economics to potential students,
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change their perceptions of economics,
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and attract more students from underrepresented groups, in particular state school students, women and minoritised ethnic groups.
“All went well, the Student Ambassadors did an excellent job, I was really impressed with them.” Sixth Form Lead, Preston Manor Sixth Form
Interested in booking a Discover Economics workshop for your Year 10 or Year 12 group?
Discover Economics workshops are aimed at students who are not currently studying economics. However, if you are a teacher or school coordinator who has an economics class that would benefit from one of our workshops, we would consider arranging this.
Imperial’s Discover Economics workshops are coordinated by the Student Recruitment and Outreach team at the Business School. To book an economics workshop, please complete this form and a member of the Business School’s Student Recruitment and Outreach team will get back to you.
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