Grant Thornton and Nat West celebrate university's ethical writing competition

Published by

Tom Kilkelly

Credit: Ethical Reading

Ethical Reading, an organisation dedicated to making Reading a more ethical town, hosted a prize-giving ceremony last week for its essay writing competition at the University of Reading.

Reading undergraduate students were tasked with writing an essay on ethics relevant to business. The competition is funded by Grant Thornton UK LLP and Natwest.

Libby Blissett won first place with her essay on commercial surrogacy. Second prize went to Faris Al-Said, who wrote about resolving sweatshop labour issues.

Speeches were given by Professor Brad Hooker of Ethical Reading, Grant Thornton’s James Carroll, Dr Luke Elson of Reading’s Philosophy Department, who was the judge for this year’s competition, the Vice-Chancellor, and Libby herself.

Libby said: “I am honoured to have won Ethical Reading’s Essay competition with my submission on the ethical and moral issues surrounding commercial surrogacy. I think it is fantastic that Ethical Reading are providing students with this opportunity to widen their research and engagement beyond the topic of their degree.

“Thank you to Ethical Reading for organising the competition, to the prize funders, NatWest and Grant Thornton, and to the university for their help and support as well as hosting a memorable presentation.”

Libby was presented with a cheque for £300 in recognition of her insightful argument on an important topic. Representatives from Grant Thornton and NatWest were on hand to help the University of Reading’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robert Van de Noort, present the first-prize award.

Professor Robert Van de Noort, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading, said: “Congratulations to Libby and Faris for coming first and second in this year’s Ethical Reading Essay Competition. In today’s society, we see companies trying harder to be more ethical in their approach to business, and so it is fantastic to see our students starting to consider this for themselves.

“The University of Reading is proud to work with Ethical Reading in a number of ways, including this essay writing competition. We have a strong connection with the local community, and many of our students go on to live and work in the Reading area after they graduate, so it is important for us to work alongside local partners to help make Reading a better place for all.”

Tom Kilkelly

Tom Kilkelly started working as a freelance journalist for The Business Magazine following his graduation from UCL in 2022. During his studies Tom became very interested in the works of Irish authors including Samuel Beckett and Flann O'Brien (Brian O'Nolan). His current role as a freelance business reporter is his first exposure to the world of business journalism. Working at TBM has given Tom the chance to really get to grips with the goings-on in the business hive that is the South East.