Year 10 Students Discover Economics at Imperial – inspiring future economists

Exploring GDP and Happiness: rethinking how we measure progress

The day kicked off with a workshop on GDP and Happiness, led by Imperial students and recent LSE graduates. The session encouraged students to think critically about how economic growth is traditionally measured and whether GDP alone is a sufficient indicator of societal wellbeing. Students discussed global examples of countries prioritising happiness and environmental sustainability alongside, or even ahead of, economic expansion.

This interactive session challenged students to consider economics beyond numbers, connecting policy choices to real-world quality of life outcomes; a key concept for those curious about how economics intersects with society.

“I learnt about how an economics degree would apply to myself in the modern world around me.” – Year 10 participant

Careers in economics: insights from industry experts

Following the workshop, students attended an employer panel featuring professional economists from a range of sectors. Panellists included experts from Ofwat, Frontier Economics, and an independent economic consultant. Panellists shared their career journeys and provided insights into the world of economics. Students asked lots of questions on the working life of an economist including what problems they are tasked with solving, how they approach solving these problems, the most fascinating projects they’ve worked on and how economists use AI and big data to tackle real world issues.

“The explanations delivered by the employers were insightful, giving me a deeper understanding of the economics field.” – Year 10 participant

Life as an economics student: Q&A with university undergraduates

A student panel closed the formal part of the day, with current undergraduates from Imperial, LSE, and UCL offering insights into their own university experiences including why they chose to study economics, what topics interest them most, how much independent study is required and what they might want to do in the future.

Hear what some of our participants had to say:

“They gave really good answers and tips for me that were beneficial. They each had their own individual journey with their different perspectives.”  Year 10 participant.

“We were able to see how university life is and how it’s different to secondary school. We were also able to see the different paths that you can take with an economics degree.” – Year 10 participant

Supporting diversity in economics through education

The Discover Economics Student Conference is one of the many ways Imperial Business School is working to widen participation to the subject and diversify the profession. We offer workshops in-school and on campus for Year 10 and Year 12 students, on a range of different topics including economic growth, inequality, cost of living, GDP and happiness and many more!

Are you a school teacher or careers advisor? Learn more about these workshops and how to request one here.  

Please note: workshops are available by request for school requests only and are not open to individuals.