CISI Educational Trust Global Awards 2025

The CISI Educational Trust is delighted to announce the 13 finalists and winners of its CISI Educational Trust Global Awards 2025.

The 2025 competition started with CISI global partner universities from four regions (Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and India) nominating their best performing undergraduate and postgraduate students, from whom regional winners and runners-up were selected and other commendations awarded.

The highest-scoring students from each region, our global finalists, submitted a presentation on “Analyse the potential challenges and risks associated with the increasing adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Financial Sector” and were interviewed online by practitioners from the CISI Educational Trust.

Two global winners, one graduate and one undergraduate, each received a cash prize, as did three highly commended award winners and one runner-up. The total prize fund amounted to £21,500.

The CISI Educational Trust is delighted to congratulate Shreyangshu Deb, top-performing undergraduate student from Christ University, India

On receipt of his award, Shreyangshu Deb (photo), top performing undergraduate student from Christ University, India said: “The journey to winning the CISI Educational Trust Global Awards 2025 in the undergraduate category has been an incredible learning experience. The first round's topic—'Analysing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenges in Finance'—introduced me to the rapid adoption of AI in the financial sector, an area I had not studied before. Researching AI's role in finance not only broadened my perspective but also made me realise its significance in shaping investment strategies and risk management. Now, I am more motivated than ever to upskill in this space. The final round required a good knowledge of current affairs—mostly on how geopolitics influences world economics and business decisions. This developed a sense of curiosity and enhanced my higher-order thinking skills. Moreover, interacting with a panel of seasoned professionals was an invaluable experience. I was initially in disbelief when the results named me the overall winner of this year's CISI Educational Trust Global Awards. Not only was it an achievement, but it also felt like a huge relief—my hard work had indeed paid off. I am deeply grateful to CISI for this opportunity, which marks a significant step forward in expanding my knowledge and expertise in the financial sector."