Undergraduate student featured in FT Brexit plan competition

Chenxu, currently studying BSc Finance & Investment Banking, was one of a handful of entrants from across the globe, and the only undergraduate student to have been selected amongst contributions from academics, managing directors, CEOs, and other senior industry professionals.

The piece was featured in the FT’s “Future of Britain Project”, which invited readers to put forward their ideas for how the UK can best take on Brexit.

‘I felt quite impressed and quite excited.’ Chenxu commented, ‘It means undergraduates can enter this kind of discussion and we do care about these issues; we want to share our ideas.’

In Chenxu’s article, he describes how the UK should “learn from the Chinese model”, in particular its introduction of Special Economic Zones such as that set up in Shanghai in 2015. As London is such an integral financial hub, Chenxu argues that accomplishing something similar in the UK’s capital could be a way to retain its world-leading position, and continue to encourage foreign investment.

'The diversity of our student body is our real advantage.' Dr Simone Varotto, associate professor of finance at the ICMA Centre commented, 'Having bright students from different backgrounds and nationalities brings fresh and valuable insights simply because they think differently and draw upon their own unique experiences.’

A number of other Henley students also submitted ideas as part in the competition, and some have been selected by the Business School for awards alongside Chenxu.

Henley award winners:

• Best undergraduate idea 1: “Learning from ‘Chinese Speed’: Making London a Free Trade Zone” - Chenxu Feng, BSc Finance & Investment Banking
• Best undergraduate idea 2: “How should the UK deal with immigration?” - Brandon Rodrigues, BSc Finance & Investment Banking
• Best postgraduate idea: “Business and Elites – the Last Two Things for UK to Lose” – by Xintong Li, MSc Corporate Finance

Read Chenxu's article in the FT here.