Competition
Global Ideas Competition 2027 (Leaders of Tomorrow)
St. Gallen Symposium
At a glance
- Deadline
- Closes 1 February 2027, 102 days leftThe posting gives a date, not a time. Days left are counted in Lagos time.
- Fee
- No fee to apply
- Who may apply
- Born in 1997 or later
- Enrolled in a master's or higher programme at a regular university on 1 February 2027
- Studying at graduate level (master's or above); bachelor's students cannot enter
- Where
- Online entry; Symposium in St. Gallen, Switzerland, 27 to 29 April 2027
An essay and video competition for master's and doctoral students born 1997 or later; the best entrants travel at the Symposium's expense to St. Gallen, Switzerland, in April 2027 and the top three share CHF 20,000.
The facts
- What you get
- All expenses covered to attend the Symposium; the three best ideas share CHF 20,000
- Where
- Online entry; Symposium in St. Gallen, Switzerland, 27 to 29 April 2027
- How long
- One entry
Where you stand
This one is free. There is no fee to apply, and nobody should ask you for money at any point.
What they ask for
- Enrolled in a master's or higher programme at a regular university on 1 February 2027
- Studying at graduate level (master's or above); bachelor's students cannot enter
- Born in 1997 or later
Get ready to apply
Built only from what this listing states. Tick as you go; the ticks stay on your phone and are not sent anywhere.
The application takes real work, by our reading.
1. What to get ready
It also names something beyond these; read their words below.
In their words: “Passport or ID copy, proof of graduate enrolment, an anonymised Solution Brief of up to 1,000 words on the template, and a video of up to 3 minutes”
2. Dates
- Closes 1 February 2027, in 102 days.
- Aim to send it by 29 January 2027. Websites slow down near a deadline, and data runs out. Our advice
Download checklist (.txt) Send to WhatsApp
The download is a small text file. You can read it later without data. It also lists each condition they set, so you can tick yourself against them. WhatsApp sends the same list to you, or to somebody helping you.
No CV yet? Make a plain one from your answers. Nothing you type is kept.
Tips for applying for a competition
General advice from us, the same for every competition. It is not what this organisation says; that is above.
- Read the rules and the judging criteria first, and write to them.
- Check who owns your work after you enter. The rules usually say.
- Submit a day early. Upload pages are often slow near a deadline.
If there is an interview or a test
- If there is a final or a pitch, practise out loud and time yourself.
All our tips and messages to copy. Practise answering, with nothing kept. Received an offer? Check whether it is real, then read before you say yes.
How to apply
You apply on St. Gallen Symposium's own website, not here. We never send an application for anybody and we never ask you for anything to pass on. Check their page for anything not shown here.
More like this, open now
How we checked this
This was opened and verified at St. Gallen Symposium's own website on 3 October 2026: it was real, still open, and open to people from African countries. If anything here is wrong, tell us.