Meet the societies: Warwick Congress

In this meet the society blog, Warwick Congress (a student-run initiative) talk about their networking events, which have previously involved leading firms such as Barclays, EY, and DLA Piper.

Warwick Congress is a student-run initiative enthused by the ambition to educate students from all backgrounds and interests. We launched 18 months ago, and since then we have held various events across the UK, attracting speakers such as the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Vince Cable and Simon Levine, Global CEO of DLA Piper, as well as over 500 delegates from across the world.

Our primary motive is to unite the disciplines of Finance, Economics, Law and Politics to a single platform thus allowing students to gain a holistic perspective on the issues surrounding the world today. We aim to establish one of the largest academic and entirely student-run conferences in Europe. The three-day event takes three current affair topics and looks to deepen students’ understanding from leading industry professionals in Finance, Economics, Law, and Politics.

We have found a significant void in the market concerning events encompassing both academic and career focused elements. We aim to bridge this gap by inviting influential speakers to analyse three yearly current affair topics from the perspectives of the four cornerstone disciplines, followed by distinctly separate networking opportunities. Through Warwick Congress, we hope to inspire and motivate students from a range of backgrounds to take an interest in not only how the four disciplines shape society, but also to spark or strengthen a passion into a variety of career paths.

Our most recent Networking Event was on Friday 3 November. The event aimed to build on the success of the previous one, which was held in February 2017 and was attended by 150 delegates and leading firms such as Barclays, EY, and DLA Piper.

This year, a competitive selection process ensured that 120 hand-picked delegates, from over 320 applications in total, had the opportunity to participate in recruitment seminars that included assessment centre skill sessions, interview practice, and problem solving exercises. Those on the finance stream were given seminars by representatives from the Boston Consulting Group and EY, whilst those on the law stream were given seminars by representatives from Norton Rose Fulbright and Womble Bond Dickinson.

Delegates had two seminars, one with each respective firm, followed by a networking session over drinks at the end of the event. The seminars went beyond ‘getting to know’ the employer, with delegates shedding light on the wider industry setting of their relevant firm, as well as the challenges that firms in the finance and law industry face. Delegates were also given application advice, particularly in regards to what employers want so see in a cover letter. Our Exclusive Networking Event is just one of our many career-focused events that aims to bridge the gap between academic attainment and securing a graduate position.

The overarching theme of WarCon 2018 is innovation, focusing on social media and global trade. During our 2018 conference, taking place from the 9 - 11 February, we will also have various careers seminars available for our delegates. 

To find out more about Warwick Congress you can visit their website or Facebook page.

Membership is free; to join Warwick Congress you can sign up here.