“Events like this make us really proud to be King’s … seeing our students testing ideas that have come out of the classroom, come out of their thinking and challenging things, challenging orthodoxy, turning knowledge into that real world impact - that is what education is all about, it is what university is all about.”
Professor Rachel A. Mills, Senior Vice President (Academic)
02 April 2026
King's Business School students score top prize at Policy Idol competition
Their winning proposal aimed to tackle isolation among young people
MSc Public Policy and Management students Alia Beny and Ina Price-James were crowned overall winners at this year’s Policy Idol, the Policy Institute’s annual competition in which contestants from across King’s have just three minutes to pitch their innovative policy ideas to a panel of leading experts, in front of a live audience.
The 2026 grand final was hosted by former BBC Home Editor Mark Easton and judged by Baroness Louise Casey, Chair of the Independent Commission into Adult Social Care; Baroness Deborah Mattinson, former Director of Strategy to Sir Keir Starmer (2021-24); Lord David Willetts, former Universities Minister and President of the Resolution Foundation; and Professor Bobby Duffy, Director of the Policy Institute.
Alia and Ina’s pitch, titled “National Youth Rewards for Community Life”, explored how a youth pass and points-based scheme for 11- to 25-year-olds could be used to tackle youth isolation, rewarding young people for attending community spaces such as youth clubs, libraries, and sports, arts and music venues, with points redeemable for free or discounted rewards, including cinema and concert tickets. The policy aims to give young people “somewhere to go, something to do and someone who cares”.
This year’s finalists covered a wide range of timely topics, including AI, housing, prediction markets, housing, domestic abuse and marital violence.
Ata Alisan and Madison Collett, studying for a master’s in Law at Dickson School of Law and a Liberal Arts degree in Philosophy at the Department of Interdisciplinary Humanities respectively, won both the Audience Award and the Substance Award for their presentation on the regulation of prediction markets. Their proposal recommended regulating prediction markets through both the Financial Conduct Authority and the UK Gambling Commission.
Malone Buckler, who is studying for an MSc in Global Health, Social Justice and Public Policy at the Department of Global Health & Social Medicine, won the Style Award with her pitch titled “SAFE-AI: Creating Safer AI Platforms through Youth-Driven Mental Health Insight”. Her presentation addressed the growing number of young people turning to conversational AI for mental health support and proposed the creation of a Safeguarding Advisory Framework to address the issue.
The evening also featured a video message from last year’s winner, Sophie Du Plessis, who shared her journey since being crowned the 2025 champion. Her story underscored the lasting impact Policy Idol has had for many students, helping transform promising ideas into tangible policy outcomes.
Watch Sophie's story
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