Young Economist of the Year 2025

Discover Economics is delighted to launch the 2025 “Young Economist of the Year” competition, sponsored by KPMG UK, and in partnership with the Financial Times.

Discover Economics is a campaign aimed at increasing diversity in economics, by transforming perceptions of the subject and encouraging young people to consider studying economics in the future.

The 2024 competition saw over 2,700 young people enter, submitting their thoughts on a range of real-life economics problems. The winners of last year’s competition were Harriet Turnbull, Neha Sathishkanna and Medha Kumar, from The Tiffin Girls' School. Commenting on their win, Harriet said:

“Looking back on this extraordinary experience of Young Economist of the Year 2024, we simply cannot adequately put into words our appreciation. From visiting Downing Street, to meeting leading Economists at the final at KPMG, to being published in the Financial Times, Young Economist of the Year is a competition like no other. It has allowed us to see the positive change that Economics can drive within society, and we would like to express our sincerest thanks to everyone who has worked to create such an unforgettable and valuable opportunity for aspiring Economists.”

Discover Economics is now excited to announce that the 2025 competition will open for entries on Tuesday 25th March. With our sponsors at KPMG UK generously funding the competition once more, this is another brilliant opportunity for young people to showcase their skills, learn more about economics, and be in with a chance of being published in the Financial Times thanks to our partnership with FT Schools.

On the competition, Osama Rahman, Director of the Data Science Campus at the Office for National Statistics and a Discover Economics Advisory Group member, said:

“Discover Economics are playing an important role with their mission to increase the diversity of economics students and so ultimately make the profession more diverse. Having attended the final and seeing the excellent presentations from all the finalists and their positivity and energy, I feel very positive about the future of the economics profession.”

Speaking after last year's final, Heather Sharp, partner, KPMG Economics, said:

“Congratulations to Harriet, Medha and Neha on winning this year’s Young Economist of the Year competition. All the finalists’ presentations were thought-provoking and well-researched, making it a brilliant final.

“Through KPMG’s ongoing sponsorship of Discover Economics we are supporting their work to bring economics to even more students across the UK and to change the way young people perceive the subject. Economics helps us understand so many of today’s societal issues and is a very rewarding career path.”

To find out more and enter your submission, click here.

For more information and the latest updates on the competition, sign up to our newsletter here!

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Discover Economics is a campaign run by the Royal Economics Society and sponsored by KPMG. It aims to broaden the appeal of economics to potential students, change their perceptions of economics and economists, and attract more students from under-represented groups.

The campaign targets 15-17 year olds, who are making choices about what post qualifications to take and what subjects to study at university or through an apprenticeship. By transforming the perceptions of economics among students, particularly those attending schools which don't provide it as a subject, the campaign aims to raise the voices of a more diverse set of economists. 

KPMG

KPMG is a global organisation of independent professional services firms providing Audit, Legal, Tax and Advisory services. It operates in 143 countries and territories with more than 273,000 partners and employees working in member firms around the world. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such. KPMG International Limited is a private English company limited by guarantee. KPMG International Limited and its related entities do not provide services to clients.

KPMG has a leading economics consultancy practice, that is part of KPMG's global network of economists.  The team provides expert analysis and advice to corporates, government bodies and regulatory authorities, using economic insights, modelling and research to help tackle a breadth of complex challenges and issues.

FT Schools

The Financial Times has created a hub for schools and colleges. Teachers in schools around the world with students aged 16-19 years old can get free access to the FT here and request individual FT accounts. Colleges in the UK can also sign up. You can check to see if your institution is already registered. ​ Schools Digest, a weekly newsletter from global education editor Andrew Jack, features student competitions, quizzes and the best of the Financial Times' expert analysis and coverage. All FT subscribers and those on the free schools programme can subscribe here to receive it every Monday at 7am. ​ Click here for more information.