Student Essay Competition

The 2021 competition is now open! The submission deadline is 30 June 2021.

About the competition

The IBE Student Essay Competition celebrates the best student writing and thinking on business ethics. All the information you need to know about the competition can be found below:

Prizes are awarded in two categories – Undergraduate and Postgraduate
Submissions should be 2,500 words (±10%) excluding all supplementary materials (appendices and bibliographies)
You choose the topic that you want to write about
You can base your submission on an existing assignment you have written
A focus on current topics in business ethics is encouraged, and rewarded through the judging process.

For inspiration on what to write about, take a look at the Knowledge Hub.

For more information download the Competition Leaflet.

Why should I enter?

Professional development

To win or be a shortlisted finalist would enhance your CV
Authors of winning essays will be invited to present their essay to industry experts at an awards ceremony in London (COVID-19 permitting)
The awards ceremony also provides an excellent opportunity to network with senior industry practitioners

Prize fund

A £500 prize fund is available for the winners of each category

Who can enter the competition?

Any student currently studying for an undergraduate or masters qualification awarded by a recognised UK higher education institution
Submissions can be made by individuals or groups
For further information, particularly if you are in any doubt about whether you are eligible, please see the small print

Entry form

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Data Protection

Your details, and those of your tutor, will be saved on our database and you will only be contacted for matters relating to the essay competition.

For IBE's full privacy policy please see here.

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Previous Winning Essays

Undergraduate category

Year	Student	University	Essay
2020	Tony Chen	University of Warwick	Debt’s moral hazard: ethical considerations for biopharmaceutical finance
2019	Joel Christoph	UCL	Ethics and Workplace Automation
2018	Nathalie Becker	St Andrews	Corporations in the 'Postnational Constellation': applying a post-colonial lens to Corporate Social Responsibility practices in a global order
2017	David Kerr	Birbeck College, University of London	Tax Avoidance: the ethical question for business
2016	Eleanor Weston	University of Brighton	Should the NHS be Free to Every Citizen Regardless of Health Choices?

Postgraduate category

Year	Student	University	Essay
2020	Rebekah Shanks	University of Aberdeen	Is the IESBA Code of Ethics sufficient to help solve ethical dilemmas facing the accounting profession?
2019	Ysabel Dela Rosa	University of Bath	The introduction of ‘voluntary’ microchip technology in the workplace: An innovative solution or invasion of privacy?
2018	Firoza Dodhi	UCL Faculty of Laws	Exploring the Ethical Issues of Innovation in Legal Services
2017	Charles Sherwood	London School of Economics	Doing the Right Thing: business ethics, moral indeterminacy and existentialism
2016	Jonathan Webb	Queen Mary, University of London	Supply Chain Corruption: a business ethics blind spot

Contact the competition lead to find out more...

Professor Chris Cowton

Associate Director (Research), IBE, c.cowton@ibe.org.uk

Following a long career of leadership, teaching and research in the higher education sector, Chris joined the IBE in 2019 with a remit to strengthen its widely respected applied research and thought leadership, and a specific role of further developing our engagement with the education sector. In pursuit of the IBE's mission to base its work on high quality, relevant research, he now also leads on our training and advisory services.

Chris Cowton is Emeritus Professor at the University of Huddersfield and Visiting Professor at Leeds University’s Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied Centre. He was previously Professor of Accounting (1996-2016), Professor of Financial Ethics (2016-2019) and Dean of the Business School (2008-2016) at Huddersfield, having joined after ten years lecturing at the University of Oxford.

He is internationally recognised for his contributions to business ethics, especially his pioneering work on financial ethics. In 2013 he was awarded the University of Huddersfield’s first DLitt (Doctor of Letters, a higher doctorate) in recognition of his contribution to the advancement of knowledge in business and financial ethics.

He is the author of more than 70 journal papers, has edited three books and has written many book chapters. He was Editor of the journal Business Ethics: A European Review for a decade (2004-2013).

He is also a visiting professor at University of the Basque Country, Bilbao (Spain), and has been a visiting professor at the University of Bergamo (Italy) and a member of the Ethics Standards Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (2009-2018).

You can read Chris's extensive bibliography here

Discussion of ethics in public life, including business, often makes unhelpful sweeping generalisations that take us nowhere. ‘Politicians are only in it for themselves’, ‘businesses manipulate consumers’, etc. Such comments describe one end of a spectrum, perhaps, but they do a disservice to those who are trying to do so much better. The IBE plays a key role, in supporting high standards of business behaviour and I am delighted to use my research expertise to contribute to that mission.

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IBE Student Essay Competition in Business Ethics 2021