Check your eligibility

To participate in the contest, you must meet both the general requirements and essay category requirements.

General requirements

You must be 18-35 years old (inclusive of both ages)
You are not a Drucker Challenge Laureate, nor have you participated in the Drucker Forum in this capacity before).
I.e. You are not a former winner/runner up/finalist of the Drucker Challenge.

> if you were previously a student (as per your application form) and are now embarking on a career at a university;

> if you were previously a student (according to your application form) and meanwhile moved on to become a manager or entrepreneur

Essay category requirements
You can submit one essay to participate as either a student or manager or entrepreneur. (Please mention your main occupation in the submission form)

Student category

You are a part-time or full-time student (Bachelors, Masters, MBA, or PhD) or you are seeking your first opportunity after the completion of your last degree

Professional category

You are a

manager of people, projects, budgets, and/or processes
an entrepreneur or business owner
licensed professional
social volunteer or community leader

Keep to the essay format for submission

Words	1500 to 3000 (excluding footnotes and any graphics) as PDF or word document
Font size	12 points
Language	English
Deadline	May 31, 2024 at 16:00 CET (4:00 PM CET)
Anonymity	Your name must not be included anywhere in the essay
Exclusivity	Entries must be produced exclusively by you (no group work) for the specific purpose of this competition, and must not have been published elsewhere
Originality	The essay must be written entirely and exclusively by the participant. The essay must not be written with assistance from tools like Chat-GPT, or any other Generative AI tools or similar software. Entries submitted thus will be disqualified and their authors will not be allowed to participate in the contest again.

To submit your Essay

Go to SUBMISSION in the main menu, fill in the form and upload your essay.

In case you encounter problems with uploading, please send your file and information to essay@druckerchallenge.org

BEFORE May 31, 2024, 16:00 CET (4:00 PM CET)

Please note:

NO entry fees to be paid
Authors from all around the world are invited to submit their essays

Familiarize yourself with the evaluation criteria

The jury will assess your ability to analyze, synthesize and produce a coherent and impactful essay, specifically

Your personal insights and original thoughts about the topic
Your storytelling style and ability to communicate effectively in English
Your research and citations of primary and secondary sources
Your conclusions which may be drawn from Peter Drucker’s books and articles

About the Jury Process

First Round

From early July onwards, an international committee of reviewers selected by the Peter Drucker Society Europe evaluates and attributes a score to each entrant's essay, based on the above essay evaluation criteria. The top 20 entries in each category that receive the highest overall scores continue to the Second Round. No notification is made of essay status at the conclusion of this round.

Second Round

At the end of July a sub-committee of expert reviewers identifies the top authors in each category who will continue to the Third, Final Round.

OPPORTUNITY to showcase your talent and reach out to the Final Jury in a way that's uniquely YOU: Record a VIDEO of yourself (no longer than 5 minutes) summarising your Drucker Challenge Essay. While your essay remains central to the Challenge, your video summary will be used to rank your entry.

At the conclusion of the Second Round a notification is sent by email with further details.

Third Round

In early August, an international jury of businesspeople and academics identifies the winner in each category, who qualifies for the Gold Award, followed by the participants who earn the Silver Award and Bronze Award respectively. The jury also selects essays whose authors earn a ranking 4th through 10th, those placed 11^th-15^th without ranking, as well as the author of the most original essay. All essay participants of the Third Round are notified by email.

Shortly thereafter, the results are published on this website and announced via the Drucker Challenge Newsletter.

By submitting an essay to the Global Peter Drucker Challenge Essay Contest, you agree to be bound by the decisions of the judges and you waive your right to any legal challenge or action in response to any such decision you deem undesirable or disagreeable.

General Terms & Conditions

Your essay and requested information must be provided by the deadline or the submission will be disqualified without notice.

The submission may be reproduced, in whole or part, for editorial and promotional purposes.

All submissions and photos on which you are depicted become the property of Peter Drucker Society Europe.

Please note!

Benefits are subject to change without notice. Any changes will be published on this website

No cash disbursement for travel and hotel costs or the waived conference fee will be made

Local travel and miscellaneous costs before, during or after the conference will not be covered

Please consult our FAQ page

Opportunities for Drucker Challenge Laureates!

Are you a Drucker Challenge Laureate who wants to stay connected?

Not eligible to participate again? No problem!

By becoming a Drucker Challenge Associate, you can collaborate with us on a number of initiatives. For instance, by:

Motivating executives/managers to register for the Global Peter Drucker Forum (GPDF)
Nominating candidates for institutional member/sponsorships
Connecting the GPDF with world-class speakers
Promoting participation in the GPDF in your local University/Alma mater or your current affiliated institution.
Any other activity that contributes to our Drucker Challenge Journey together! Feel free to share suggestions!

For more information, please contact: nayyara.rahman@druckersociety.eu

NEW RULES FOR 2024!