18 December 2009. On 6 and 7 May 2010, the 40th St. Gallen Symposium will be taking place on the Campus of the University of St.Gallen (HSG). Students from all over the world will meet 600 decision-makers from trade and industry, academia, society and politics in order to debate the topic of "Entrepreneurs – Agents of Change".

100 of the so-called "Leaders of Tomorrow" will be able to qualify for participation in the St. Gallen Symposium with an essay. The best authors will win the "St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award", which amounts to EUR 20,000. Another 100 students will be invited to St.Gallen on account of their academic performance and their specialist relationship with the topic.

Entrepreneurs see opportunities and not decline
The topic of "Entrepreneurs – Agents of Change" revolves around the entrepreneurial individual and his/her innovative power. Entrepreneurial action is widely considered to be the approach to overcoming a crisis: where others see decline and doom, people who think along entrepreneurial lines perceive new opportunities and possibilities.

The St. Gallen Symposium offers a platform, not only to entrepreneurs in the economic sense of the term but also to people who follow the principle of permanent innovation in a wide variety of areas in life. What is crucial is that today’s entrepreneurs and decision-makers are brought into contact with the Leaders of Tomorrow.

Contributing to the "Spirit of St.Gallen"
The 200 Leaders of Tomorrow constitute the pivotal group of participants in the St. Gallen Symposium. To qualify for participation in the St. Gallen Symposium, student applicants must familiarize themselves with the topic in depth and submit their ideas and visions in the form of an essay by 1 February 2010. Every year, some 1,000 students from over 40 nations send in their work, thus turning the EUR 20,000 St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award into the biggest student competition of its kind.

Besides the participants in the competition, the International Students’ Committee (ISC) will for the first time select 100 young talents worldwide, who have a proven academic background and possess the aptitude to enrich the discussions of the topic with their specialist knowledge. This second group of participants will be invited to St.Gallen in May 2010 alongside the 100 best participants in the student competition.

Students working on a voluntary basis
Every year, the International Students’ Committee (ISC) – a team made up of about 30 highly motivated students of the University of St.Gallen – assume responsibility for the planning, implementation and further development of the St. Gallen Symposium on a voluntary basis.

Further information about the St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award, the St. Gallen Symposium and next year’s topic, "Entrepreneurs – Agents of Change", can be found on the Symposium website.