WAIFC announces winners of third annual Young Academic Award

The WAIFC Young Academic Award 2024 winners were unveiled in a grand ceremony held during the Annual General Meeting in Tokyo, hosted by our esteemed member, FinCity.Tokyo. Having received more than 50 submissions from over 20 countries, the three finalists were invited to present their research to WAIFC members.

The Chairman of WAIFC, Keiichi Aritomo, had the privilege of announcing the overall winner of the 2024 cohort, whose paper was voted the best and awarded €3,000. The runners-up were also awarded prizes of €2,000 (2nd place) and €1,000 (3rd place).

We are thrilled to announce the winners of the WAIFC YAA Award 2024:

Tammaro Terracciano, Coralie Jaunin, and Lucciano Somoza - First Place

Title of paper: "Are Green Funds for Real?"

Adebodum Adebayo - Second Place

Title of paper: "Financial Centers as Drivers of Talent Development and Re-Skilling in Sustainability and FinTech"

Regean Mugume - Third Place

Title of paper: "Delivering double wins: How can Africa's finance deliver economic growth and renewable energy transition"

Each of these winners has demonstrated exceptional research skills, contributing papers of the highest quality. Their work stood out among numerous submissions, showcasing their dedication and expertise in their respective fields.

The WAIFC extends its heartfelt congratulations to Tammaro, Coralie, Luciano, Adebodum, and Regean for their outstanding achievements. We are proud to have such talented individuals as part of our YAA winners, and we look forward to seeing the impact of their work in the years to come.

We would like to thank our Jury for their remarkable work. 

Read all three award winning papers here:

https://waifc.finance/news/top-three-papers-of-waifc-young-academic-award-2024/

Commenting on the third year of Young Academic Award, Keiichi Aritomo, Chair of the WAIFC said:

“Over the last few years, we have seen more than 150 applications from over 20 academic institutions worldwide. With such an overwhelming response we continue to see the ideas the next generation are bringing that will drive innovation in our industry but also shape the future that they will drive. It is a great privilege to facilitate engagement for our members within their communities. We look forward to seeing the next cohort of submissions and what new ideas come to the table in 2025“.

Dr. Jochen Biedermann, Managing Director of WAIFC, added:

"We thank all the young academics for their submissions as we continue to see much engagement with the programme and across a variety of relevant industry topics. We look forward to extending our footprint across more academic institutions in our members‘ jurisdictions as we grow the Young Academic Award into its fourth year in 2025."

The Young Academic Award is a testamemt to our members‘ commitment to foster the next generation of thought leaders shaping a sustainable financial industry through research and innovative solutions that help address the global challenges. This year, the competition expanded its focus on sustainability, inclusion and talent development by including specific topics such as collaboration among financial centers to channel climate finance, the use of digital assets for financial inclusion, advancing social finance to support organizations that have social impact at the core of their mission, and the role of financial centers amid the increasingly complex geopolitical developments.

The WAIFC Young Academic Award provides a platform for young academics to submit research papers or essays addressing such challenges. Find out more about the award here: https://waifc.finance/news/waifc-young-academic-award-2023/

Contact:

• Abdulrahim Osman, WAIFC Press Officer, osman@waifc.finance

The World Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC) is a non-profit association registered in Brussels, Belgium, which represents leading international financial centers and facilitates cooperation and the exchange of best practices. WAIFC members are city governments, associations, and similar institutions developing and promoting their financial centers.

WAIFC facilitates cooperation between its members, the exchange of best practices, and communication with the general public.