Economics BSc
The Economics Society is for economists, lawyers, politics students, geographers and pretty much everyone.
Diana Adamczyk: We are a student-led society. Our aim is to engage students with economics outside lectures, in a fun and interesting way. We run weekly meetings on various topics within economics and also have great socials.
Karina Maheswaran: At the meetings, we sometimes have external speakers. We share advice and insights on doing a year in industry, how to get a job and improve our employability. There are also opportunities for students to present on economics topics that they’re interested in.
Ollie Hall: The Economics Society is for economists, lawyers, politics students, geographers and pretty much everyone. Economics shapes our society and goes far, far beyond ‘money’. We look into human decision-making, simple as that, at the individual level, up to country level. We’re trying to understand why things are the way they are, and, when things go wrong, to understand why.
Peter Mann: Did you know that more people fear public speaking than death? That was me during secondary school. The reason why I’ve been an active member with this society for so long is that it provides the opportunity to practise your presentation skills and critical thinking. These are extremely valuable skills to develop on top of your degree.
Diana: Peter has mentioned giving presentations. It was something I hated too, and being part of the society helped me to feel more comfortable doing them. I also learnt a lot about working in a team through being on the committee. Managing relationships is such an essential skill – if you can’t work with people, you won’t go very far!
Peter: Socially it has given me a network of people who share my interest in economics, and in terms of employability I’ve gained skills such as presenting, effective communication, leadership and critical thinking. These are qualities many firms look for and they will help me to stand out when applying for jobs
Ollie: Being part of the Economics Society encourages you to read beyond your course, and to think about how the theory and empirical work you learn about in lectures fit into the real world examples we explore in the society.
Karina: It’s helped me to feel more motivated and engaged, and I think I’ve got better grades because of that.
Peter: The most memorable aspect for me was becoming assistant researcher for the society in my second year and then giving presentations throughout the year. It gave me the opportunity to discuss my own interests and refine my ideas with questions from the audience.
Diana: One of my favourite student presentations was by Peter, when he talked about the economics of mining in space! I also enjoyed presenting on a book I read called The Value of Everything by the economist Mariana Mazzucato. This book questions the stories we have been told about who the wealth creators are in modern-day capitalism and what is actually valuable in our society. It’s such a wonderful feeling when you find a group of people who are interested in what you have to say, they engage with you on a topic and debate your point of view. You grow intellectually and practise voicing your ideas – which is a crucial skill in its own right.
Karina: In general, I’ve learned a lot and had a lot of fun while doing so. My highlight was probably our Christmas meal, having the chance to get to know the members in a less formal setting.
Ollie: The Economics Summit was my most memorable moment. To see three months’ hard work come together to achieve such a great day was very special. The speakers were interesting and the day ran smoothly!
Peter: The Society ran its first summit in 2019 and it was a great success, so we wanted to build on that. It’s a good opportunity to raise the profile of the School of Economics and we wanted to continue the discussion that had been started at the first summit, ‘Is Economics Useful?’ Many claim that economics is no longer fit for purpose and is now outdated, but as a committee we disagree!
Diana: It was a joint effort. We first had to decide what topics we wanted to discuss, to keep it focused and not too broad. We eventually settled on climate change, technological revolution and inequality. We thought these were topics people would care about and that were not too niche, so people could have an opinion about them; this was especially important for the debate so that students could participate.
Once we’d decided the topics, we sent out loads and loads of emails to experts who could speak on the subject. I was mainly responsible for promoting the event, so I created posters, tried to get students involved, set up social media pages and organised photographers to make sure that the School could publicise the success of the event after it had happened.
Karina: I organised what would happen in any breaks within the schedule, ensuring that students and speakers alike felt comfortable and enjoyed the day. I also organised the social event after the summit where speakers could talk to the students.
Peter: Ollie was responsible for the debates and the ticketing, and I liaised with the different people involved to make sure everyone had what they needed and everything ran smoothly. We met every week to make sure we were on track with everything. The School contributed £2,000, and we wouldn’t have been able to run the event without their support – and not just financially. Many staff contributed their time and expertise to help make sure everything ran smoothly and we were very grateful.
Peter: We had three speakers, from IPPR, the New Economics Foundation and Frontier Economics, as well as a representative from Greenpeace who participated in the debate. They spoke about inequality, the economics of climate change and the technological revolution.
Diana: We also had a students v lecturers debate on ‘Who should pay for climate change policies? Do developed countries have a moral obligation to compensate developing countries?’ It was a passionate debate, and we got lots of rebuttal points from members of the audience.
Diana: Students came back and gave us feedback saying how much they enjoyed it – and that was the most important thing for me. During the breaks and at networking after, students at the summit were keen to catch up with the speakers and tell them what they liked most about their talk, or if they disagreed about a point they made. People were talking about economics and relating it to their lives.
Peter: I hope the Economics Summit continues and evolves for years to come and really encourages future students to study economics at Kent.
Diana: Being part of the society has been the highlight of my final year at Kent. Even though the extra work from being part of a committee was stressful at times (especially while balancing this with usual uni work), I am so grateful to have been part of such a vibrant student community. Join us if you want to become an enlightened citizen who can critically evaluate what they hear in the news, and also to meet friendly and bubbly people.
