Celebrating Excellence in Franco-British Student Research: Announcing the Winners of the Entente Cordiale Prizes 2025

We are pleased to announce the success of this year's Entente Cordiale Day, which took place on April 7th and 8th, 2025 under the Joint Patronage of His Majesty King Charles III and President Emmanuel Macron. Over the course of two unforgettable days, 57 students from leading French and British universities came together for dynamic academic exchange and inspiring research presentations.

Day 1 began with a welcome lunch at the House of Commons, hosted by Luke Murphy MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change, who delivered an inspiring address on this year’s theme: “Climate Change, Biodiversity, and the Developing World”, encouraging students to consider the human dimensions of environmental policy. The group then met with Rachel Kyte CMG, His Majesty's Government Special Envoy on Climate Change at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), to debate on energy infrastructures and ecosystems, offering insights into frontier environmental policymaking. The day concluded with a stunning military parade and a Pol Roger champagne reception at the Royal Hospital Chelsea hosted by the Governor, General Sir Adrian John Bradshaw, KCB, OBE, DL and an exceptional performance by the LSE Chamber Orchestra and Choir, this year’s host university, in the presence of the President and Vice Chancellor of LSE, Professor Larry Kramer.

Day 2 was a big day for our finalists. After months of rigorous research and collaboration, students presented their projects at the LSE Campus to the Grand Jury, a panel of distinguished academics and professionals at the forefront of environmental policy, presided over by Lord Sharma, President of the COP 26. From doughnut economics and carbon taxes to multilateral biodiversity finance, each group offered a unique disciplinary lens on the complex challenges of climate change.

Finally, we concluded Entente Cordiale Day 2025 with a closing ceremony at Hatfield House Old Palace, hosted by Entente Cordiale Day Co-Chair & Joint Honorary President The Most. Hon The Marquess of Salisbury KG KCVO PC DL, where we proudly unveiled this year’s winners of the Entente Cordiale Prizes: 

🥇First Prizes

King Edward VII Prize

Nachiket Midha, Yoonki Lee and Theo Kaiser from the University of Oxford

Project Title : Fields on Fire: Policy Recommendations to Combat Stubble Burning in India

Prix Président Loubet 

Lesly Kana, Cypris Remond and Khushi Tivary from EDHEC Business School

Project Title: Agroforestry : the green guardian, Cameroon & India

🥈Second Prizes

Queen Elizabeth II Prize

Cadence Barker, Ayleen Roy and Katrina Simanovska from King's College London

Project Title: From Tradition to Table: Community Gardening and the Cultivation of Neglected and Underutilised Species for Climate Change Adaptation in Vietnam

Prix Président Jacques Chirac 

Cassio Balligand, Gabin Coicaud and Brice Renaudeau from EDHEC Business School

 Project Title: Le temps de la réforme : repenser les crédits carbone pour une transition juste et durable

🥉Third Prizes

Sir Winston Churchill Prize

James Ewan Evans, Benjamin Parker and Rhys Preston-Allen from Imperial College London

Project Title: Breaking the Stalemate: An Ambitious, Priority-Aligned Proposal for Multilateral Biodiversity Finance

Prix Général Charles de Gaulle

Lou Cléobie, Jules Gaillard, Louise Montaudon from Sorbonne Université

Project Title: De la crise environnementale globale aux impacts locaux : la quête de solutions juridiques équilibrées pour une justice climatique

🏅Fourth Prize

The Marquess of Lansdowne Prize

Elyse Chaves, Eugénie Chene and  Aglaé Fricoteaux from University College London

Project Title: The Desert Light Project : How Solar Parks in the Sahara Could Revolutionise Renewable Energy

🏅Fifth Prize 

Lord Williams of Elvel Prize

Benedikt Brückner, Tristan Spreng and Quentin Wolf from Imperial College London

Project Title: GroundTruth: A global reporting system to solve biodiversity and climate challenges

Well done to all of our participants and finalists for their outstanding contributions and spirited engagement throughout the competition.

Entente Cordiale Day 2025 reaffirmed the importance of student-led research and dialogue. We are deeply grateful to our hosts, jury members, university partners, and sponsors for making this event possible. 

📸 Follow us on our website, Instagram and LinkedIn for highlights from the event, behind-the-scenes moments!

Here’s to the next generation of changemakers and future global leaders—and to an exceptional Entente Cordiale Day in April 2026!

Photo credits: Carl Goodwin