Summit a bit different

It is that time of year again. The Warwick Economics Summit approaches fast and, judging by the speed with which tickets sold out, it is clear that students and member of the public alike are looking forward to this year’s event.

As the world economy recovers from what many claim has been the worst financial crisis since the depression of the 1930s, there is no shortage of topics to discuss and debate on. As academics and policy-makers have had more time to reflect and analyse the causes of the sub-prime debacle this summit is a chance for speakers to shed some further light on their thoughts on the current economic environment.

It is worth noting that this year’s summit does not boast the big names of previous years. There will be no John Nashs or John Kays and there will certainly be no Tony Blair or Joseph Stiglitz as it was rather sneakily implied by the Economics Summit posters which advertised these gentlemen along with some of the actual speakers. There will be a number of talks from Warwick’s own faculty and attendees can look forward a diverse range of outside speakers such as Lord Digby Jones the current UK trade & Investment Business Ambassador and Liam Halligan a leading Economics journalist most notable for his stint as the Economics correspondent at Channel 4 News. Whilst both these speakers will focus on the financial crisis there will be a number of different topics covered; Bob Janjuah of RBS is expected to speak on debt and deflation and for those who are interested in behavioural Economics there will be a talk on from Pete Lunn, a former BBC journalist with an interesting background in Neuroscience. For those looking for a more light-hearted take on the doom and gloom in the world today watch out for Kevin Kallaugher (also known as KAL), The Economist’s leading cartoonist, who will give his satirical take on the events of the last year. As a cartoonist myself, I am personally looking forward to this one the most!

Though a series of talks can be informative and interesting, it can also become repetitive and mundane over the course of three days. However the organisers of the Summit have sought to address this by including a number of seminars, networking events and games which will allow attendees to explore the topics of their interest with speakers and academics. This is ideal for those wanting to learn more, and for those who might want to understand more about careers from the speakers themselves. The ‘Question Time’ event with some of the speakers will also give the attendees a chance to really grill them and understand their thoughts. Sunday has also been altered a bit this year with the inclusion of several micro-talks which are anticipated to be short and sweet so that attendees are fully engaged.

While many students at Warwick found it difficult to get involved with One World Week this year, the Economics Summit promises to be engaging and highly informative – let’s hope it can deliver.

_Come back next week for a full review._