The Oxford Analytica Challenge: Students analyze real-world problems at the intersection of Politics, Law and Economics

Under the guidance of Olivia Hamill, Deputy Director of Advisory at Oxford Analytica, an international consulting firm specialized in geopolitical analysis based in London, a group of PPLE students assessed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the sustainability agenda of the gold mining industry. In the words of Olivia Hamill, “the aim of this project was for students to draw on their studies in Politics, Law, and Economics to analyze real-world problems at the intersection of all three disciplines.”

Twenty second-year students analyzed the sustainability of the extractive industry ecosystem by focusing on the evolving sustainability agenda, its key stakeholders, trends and other criteria and applications. Students worked in groups and conducted a scoping exercise, identified sources of information, and critically identified the issues that underpin the sustainability agenda in these industries.

Their final project consisted of a project proposal highlighting the key trends and emerging challenges shaping the industry, a final report and a presentation. Group one, composed by Daniela Mejía Villalobos, María Belén Pazmiño, Elias Sohnle Moreno, and Arman Sukiasyan received the highest number of votes from the jury panel, comprised of Olivia Hamill, Manager/Advisory at Oxford Analytica Stina Warnstam Drolet, and IE Adjunct Professor Óscar Martínez Tapia.

The students proposal, “Sustainability Trends in the Gold Mining Sector. Risk Assessment for Golden Horizons”, focused at “detecting and analyzing ongoing trends in the mining industry in order to derive relevant risks to the operations of the mining company Golden Horizons’” as well as providing “a roadmap to mitigate their effects and ensure long-term resilience in a sustainable manner.”

According to student Elias Sohnle Moreno, “the project was challenging, but the healthy competition within the class kept the experience fun and exciting. The Oxford Analytica competition required a very broad understanding of extractive industries and the sustainability dynamics at play, without overlooking the intricacies specific to the gold mining industry. In the Politics, Philosophy, Law and Economics program we often say that since we are studying three fields simultaneously, we develop an expertise in connecting dots.”

Next Oxford Analytica challenge will take place in fall 2021.