WAIFC Young Academic Award 2024

Now in its 3rd year, the WAIFC’s Young Academic Award (YAA) competition continues to support young academic scholars around the world, incentivizing research on the role of financial centres to contribute towards sustainable socio-economic development and inclusiveness.

This year, the WAIFC has expanded the list of topics to include four additional areas including climate change finance, social finance, digital assets and currencies, and the impact of geopolitics on the financial sector. We invite young academics to submit papers or essays addressing one of the following highly relevant topics:

1. The role of international financial centers in promoting collaboration and channeling climate change finance.
2. How financial centers can support the harmonization and proliferation of sustainable reporting standards.
3. The role of IFCs in financing the circular economy.
4. The role of the financial sector in designing products/services and due diligence practices to specifically foster social enterprises.
5. How financial centers can foster gender diversity in the financial industry.
6. The impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on the financial sector.
7. The role Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) will play in the coming years.
8. How financial centers can support talent development and re-skilling, particularly regarding sustainability and financial technology.
9. How the financial sector can remain an attractive employer for young talent.
10. How financial centers can foster international cooperation & peace in a tense geopolitical context.