22 WINGS OF EXCELLENCE By now, Schima Labitsch’s (AT) friends have probably been treated to a wonderful night out in New York City. The Austrian student, studying at Fordham University in New York, had to invite them: As one of the six finalists of the St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award essay competition, she already knew that her essay must have been convincing. But she never thought she would actually make it onto the podium. Just before heading to Switzerland she promised her friends that if she won, she would take them out to one of the nicest restaurants in the Big Apple. She even gave them the choice of where to go. Labitsch won. The Master’s student in International Political Economy and Development (IPED) convinced the jury with her essay “Deconstructing growth: The why, what and how any alternative to growth must consist of.” Spending a relaxing evening with her clique sounds about right after winning one of the world’s most prestigious essay competitions. This year, 820 graduate and post graduate students from 92 nations, studying at 350 universities in 68 countries, shared their ideas. But writing a high-quality essay was not enough: For the very first time in the history of the St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award, in-
troduced in 1989 to highlight new visions of young minds, the six finalists had to present their ideas on stage. “It was not about judging them. Instead, we wanted to give them a platform to present themselves,” says Prof. Georg van Krogh, Chair of Strategic Management and Innovation at ETH Zurich. “It was about a chance to talk to them and to get to know them.” For the jury, chaired by van Krogh, four criteria were very important: “How have they been able to argue, how new are their ideas, how did they embed relevant literature and how practical is the implementation of their idea?” According to him, all the finalists did fantastic work, making it tough for the jury to decide which three would share the CHF 20,000 prize purse at the end. “I really enjoyed reading these essays,” he said, admitting that he learned new approaches on other alternatives to growth, too. For one and a half hours, in front of several hundred people in the auditorium, the glare of the spotlight was on Schima Labitsch and her five rivals, Constantin Aichelburg (AT), David Clough (GB), Alexandra Ettlin (CH), Nicolas Hartmann (DE) and Colin Miller (US). They had to sum up their main ideas in just a few minutes. After their presentation, they had to defend