Imperial students take part in the EBEA Student Conference at the Bank of England

This month, the Year 12 EBEA Student Conference took place at the Bank of England, offering aspiring economists a chance to explore real-world economics and how the subject can help society tackle its most challenging problems. 

Year 12 students from local sixth forms and colleges were invited in-person, with many more across the UK tuning in online, to hear from practicing economists, student economists and relevant organisations such as the Financial Times. The key theme of the day was the notion that ‘economics is for everyone’ with speakers from a diverse range of backgrounds themselves, sharing details of their own career journey.  

Imperial Student Ambassador workshop

Imperial’s Student Ambassadors delivered a workshop and discussion as part of this event on how government tax policies and public spending impact national economies. Students discussed the effect of fiscal decisions—like tax cuts or increased public spending. Imperial’s student ambassadors, all studying the BSc Economics, Finance and Data Science course, played a key role in facilitating discussions and making complex economic concepts accessible to everyone.  

The EBEA Student Conference provided students with valuable exposure to economic policymaking, set in the historic and influential surroundings of the Bank of England. It also highlighted the importance of widening participation initiatives like Discover Economics, which are vital in inspiring the next generation of economists and policymakers from backgrounds typically underrepresented in economics and higher education. 

Imperial’s Discover Economics workshops  

We want to make economics more accessible BSc Economics, Finance and Data Science - Business School which is why Imperial Business School offers Year 10 and Year 12 Discover Economics workshops – which act as an introduction to the subject - to state schools and colleges. 

The purpose of Discover Economics workshops are to:  

• broaden the appeal of economics to potential students,   

• change their perceptions of economics,   

• and attract more students from underrepresented groups, in particular state school students, women and minoritised ethnic groups. 

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.  Our workshops are typically in-person and for schools/colleges in London or surrounding areas. If you are in a different part of the UK and would like to take advantage of the Discover Economics workshops, we recommend that you contact Discover Economics. 

 “All went well, the Student Ambassadors did an excellent job, I was really impressed with them.” Sixth Form Lead, Preston Manor Sixth Form 

“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