BI students win essay competition
15 November 2023MSc students Petter Flølo and Louis Myhren Ormestad impressed the jury with their essay on the dangers of creating a digital divide between countries.
The students are this year’s winners of BI’s Opinion Essay Competition, which is organized as part of the master course Ethics and Sustainability in Organizations each semester.
“Winning this competition is a tremendous honour that truly serves as a source of inspiration and motivation for our studies. Recognition, like from this competition, encourages us as students by showing that hard work is recognized and valued,” says Petter and Louis.
In their essay, Petter and Louis calls out for action to avoid a future with two separate civilizations, caused by increased technological differences between rich and developed countries.
The winners receive a prize of NOK 10,000 and having their essay titled “Are we bridging the digital divide or inviting digital doom?” published as a featured article on BI Business Review.
“With everything that is happening today surrounding technology, we felt the need to dig deeper into how this potential was employed globally. After finding out more on the current technology efforts used to assist developing countries, we felt the need to shed some light on a situation we believe needs more attention,” the two students explains.
Both are currently pursuing a Master of Science in Business at BI, with a focus on accounting and business control.
Professor Caroline Dale Ditlev-Simonsen is the course responsible for the Ethics and Sustainability in Organizations course. She believes the essay competition is a great alternative to just having the students write another assignment.
“We ask the students to apply what they learn at BI, critically reflect about corporate sustainability, and take a personal stand of companies' attempts to become more sustainable. Initiatives like this support students skills and engagement around sustainable development as future leaders,” says Ditlev-Simonsen.
This year’s jury consisted of Karen Spens (President of BI), Kim Gabrielli (CEO of UN Global Compact Norway), Linn Dybdahl (Senior Adviser, NMBU), and Caroline D. Ditlev-Simonsen (Professor, BI).
Read the winning essay:
"Are We Bridging the Digital Divide or Inviting Digital Doom?"
If we want to avoid a future with two separate civilizations, we need to stop thinking that the technological gap is going to close itself. Read article.