EAG London 2026

Welcome to what I think is probably the EA event of the year (no, I’m not running it)

This happens once a year, always in exam season. (There are other EAG(x)s but they are smaller and not based in the UK). It’s up to 2.5 days of meeting ~1,500 people, all who are serious about improving the world. I find it super valuable because you can easily see everyone that’s going and organise short 1-1 meetings- I typically have 20-30 over a couple of days. You can chat to people about anything, but career advice is the most common benefit people get, and some of us got job offers last time. 

There were 25 of us in London last year, and 18 in Amsterdam recently. We’re aiming for 50 this time. We’ll help with applying, prep, logistics (we’ll book and pay for your accommodation) and following up. 

This is for you regardless of:

  • Subject

  • Age/ level of study

  • Work experience

  • Financial situation

  • Knowledge of Effective Altruism (once it’s above a bar similar to the Arete Fellowship)

For example, Tarka, a Biochemistry grad received "so much more generous advice than previously seen, so many follow up messages with resources- people to connect to and follow up. And it feels so supportive." She had a "lifechanging conversation" with someone who told her about a perfect role she didn't know existed. She has now taken an R&D role at a cultivated meat company to upskill for this. 

Have a question? Not sure if it's for you/ worth going? 

  • Come to our information night: Monday 16th February, 5.30-7.30, (including free dinner). Hear what we gained from previous conferences, admissions advice and ask your questions. Grab your free dinner here. 

  • If you can’t make that, just stick your name and email here. I’ll reach out to see if I can help!

  • Feel free to email me with your application for me to look over :))

Deadline: to receive accommodation, please apply to EAG London and complete this form before Sunday 22nd Feb, 11.59pm (end of week 5).

Excited to have you with us!

Alex, Director, Effective Altruism Oxford (alex@eaoxford.com)

Logistics

Venue
InterContinental London—The O2, 1 Waterview Dr, London, SE10 0TW

Dates

Friday 29th May (3pm) to Sunday 31st May (6pm)

(You don’t have to go to all of it).

Meals provided

Snacks throughout, typically Friday dinner and hot lunches on Saturday and Sunday. Everything is vegan.

Cost?

Nothing- students are encouraged to select the free ticket option

Accomodation

We will book out and pay for your accommodation. This will likely be in an IHG 20 mins walk from the venue. 

Travel

It takes ~2hrs from Oxford train station to the venue. It costs ~£30 for a return ticket and we can help with the cost if needed. 

How did we benefit last time?

  • Here’s how I (Alex) benefited over the past couple of conferences

    • Chatted to Ben Todd (founder of 80,000 hours) about giving a talk and about career advice

    • Chatted to a founding member of The Humane League about potentially co-founding a foundation

    • A potential contractor for a project that I interviewed

    • Someone who looked over my CV

    • Lot’s of people about how to get better at my job!

    • Someone who got me further in a hiring process because of our chat!

  • Another Alex became more interested in AI safety, got much more optimistic about academics having a sway in policy and got advice about how to do this. 

  • Jessica originally wanted to be a barrister but is now much more excited about non-traditional paths in law and AI. She received good advice on dealing with career uncertainty and lots of things to read/ courses to follow up. She’s excited to go to EAG London to understand the traditional path in law. 

  • Tarka had a “life-changing” conversation with Alex Myers from GFI, who told her about a role that she didn’t know existed but seems perfect for her. To upskill for this, she has just started in an R&D role in a cultivated meat company. She received ““so much more generous advice than previously seen, so many follow up messages with resources.”

  • Khai got a sense of what people’s jobs are actually like day to day by being to talk to them individually, as before it just felt very abstract

  • Anonymous went in being interested in global health policy but wasn’t sure what strategies are actually viable and what route to take (e.g. grassroutes vs policy, does he need to tow the party line?). He said the workshops/ talks had an answer to all of his questions. He also received useful feedback on a project and a really valuable collaborator. “I had the best best time, i never would have had the opportunity, even being in Oxford, I would never have been in a room with solution based thinkers, I felt realigned with my goals to be with people thinking about solutions.” He received a couple of verbal job offers but is keen to work on his own projects. 

How we can help

  • Applications: Share admissions advice and Read through and comment on your application draft

  • Preparation: Co-work with you to help prepare for the conference, including showing you how to use the software, how to request and book 1-1s, helping you think about who talk to and what to go to

  • Logistics: free (booked) accommodation and potentially travel support 

  • Satellite events: meals in the evening (some may be free), board games in the late evening!

  • Buddy groups for checking in

  • Individual chat after to help you act on what you learned

What actually happens there

There’s loads happening at once, and you can go to as much or as little as you like (there’s even a nap room!). Types of content include:

1-1s

Individual meetings that you book ahead of time. For me, these are what makes the conference so valuable. The conference uses a software where you can easily see everyone that’s going, what they’re looking for, and easily message and book with them. 

Workshops 

Talks but more interactive. Here are the workshops I really liked from a pervious conference

  • Developing Your Personal Theory of Change

  • Supercharge your Giving: The Three Concerns I Overcame Before Signing a 10% Pledge

  • Career transition strategies

  • How to Handle Worldview Uncertainty

  • Career Impact Workshop: Finding a Role That's Good For You and Good For the World

Meetups

Groups identified by area of interest or demographics. These are quite casual and the format can differ from speed networking (5 min rounds of chatting to someone individually) to discussions by topic to short talks. Groups from a previous conference include

  • Asia

  • Researchers

  • POC

  • Global Health and Development

  • Operations & Assistants

  • Rationality

  • AI Safety

  • Global catastrophic risks

  • Software Developers

  • Animal Welfare

  • EA for Jews

  • EA Twitter

  • Neurodiversity

  • EA for Christians

  • Muslims for EA

  • Law and Policy

  • Climate Change

  • Women and Non Binary

  • University Students

  • Entrepreneurs and Consultants

  • Data Scientists

  • Biosecurity

  • Creatives and Communicators

  • LGBTQIA+

  • Africa

Talks

We don’t know the exact schedule yet, but here are the talks from a similar conference

  • Opportunities for Southeast Asians in AI safety and biosecurity

  • Corporate and Farmer Engagement: Shrimp Welfare Perspectives

  • Predicting what the future holds - for nonhuman animals

  • Disruptive protest tactics: helpful or harmful?

  • Communicating the risks of AI through Video, Comics, and Graphic Design

  • Antimicrobial Resistance - Too many bugs, not enough drugs!

  • The how and why of a career that helps animals in LMICs

  • More Than the Obvious: Unexplored Paths to High-Impact Careers

  • Against the singularity hypothesis

  • Working with governments to eliminate lead exposure

  • What is Biosecurity and how do I get involved?

  • Intention-impact gap in global health interventions

  • Price-, Taste-, and Convenience-Competitive Plant-Based Meat Would Not Currently Replace Meat

  • Conquering the Valley of Death: Building runway for your high-impact charity

  • Cracking the Shell of Hen Welfare

  • 10 Things You Didn't Know About Our World in Data

  • Operations in AI Safety - Being the muscle of the org

  • The Role of Existential Hope in Shaping Our Future

  • Models of EA and the World

  • Our attempt to increase the AGI readiness of the multilateral system

  • From a Side Project to a Funded Organization: My Story and What I've Learned

  • Starting your own EA project: What it takes & who it takes

  • On the (h)edge - Systematic risk reduction, current events and updates from FP Climate

  • Why you should write on the EA Forum

Office hours

Most speakers will have a set time afterwards in a smaller room where you can ask them questions. Even if you’re not sure what to ask, it can be worth going as you can hear other people’s questions. 

Satellite events

Informal events in the evening organised by attendees. Typically these are drinks or dinners for those interested in specific areas (like animal welfare or AI safety). We’ll run something too.

How to make the most of it

  • Set goals (we can help you think this through!)

  • Reach out for 1-1s and book sessions early

  • Prepare questions you can ask during Q&A sessions or when networking

  • Research key topics and speakers that interest you

  • Prepare an elevator pitch if you’re seeking collaborators, looking to hire or get hired (very optional)

  • Take notes and follow up afterwards!

Admissions

In 2024, 84% of applicants were accepted to EA Global. I expect students applying for the first time to get in ~70% of the time. I think many people are ‘good enough’ but don’t even apply because they are worried about being rejected. (Ideas mostly come from this very helpful post!)

The admissions team prioritise 2 factors

  • EA context: do you understand core EA ideas? Typically completing our Arete Fellowship is sufficient for this. 

  • Current potential and desire to make progress along a professional path that is aligned with EA principles, or to help others do so: are you taking concrete actions towards pursuing a more impactful career?

Tips

  • Be specific: what have you read/ done/ applied to? 

  • You don’t need to be fancy: they don’t pay attention to formatting or writing style, and bullet points are encouraged. 

  • Explain your reasoning: even if you’re uncertain just explain why you’re currently excited about the direction your pursuing, or what specifically you’re uncertain about

Common misconceptions

  • I’m too uncertain about my career path

This is expected! As long as you have a sense of the direction you’re keen to explore and how you’re looking to explore it

  • I disagree with some ideas in EA (e.g. longtermism)

So do I! I have openly said that I disagree with longtermism and have been to many of these conferences. As long as you’re open minded, understand the views and are taking steps to explore your uncertainties I’m happy.

  • I’m too inexperienced/ don’t have anything to offer

I also worried about this when I went to my first EAG. But you’re there to learn from other people’s experiences so you can go to help lots of people, so being inexperienced and uncertain now is fine!

  • If I’m accepted, I need to go

If something changes, you’re welcome to drop out at any time. Even if you do go you don’t need to stay for the whole thing. 

  • Getting rejected is really bad

I expect a few people to be rejected, and this is ok! It’s easy to reply to the next conference (it even saves your answers) and they don’t hold previous rejections against you. 

  • I need to fill the word count

Look how short my application to EAGx Amsterdam was!

What can a successful application look like?

Describe your current plan for improving the world, and (if applicable) why you selected this plan rather than some other close alternative(s). *

 

After getting to the final round of Charity Entrepreneurship's incubation programme, my feedback was that I have strong written communication and interpersonal skills and an eye for strategy, so I'm looking at careers that can utilise these skills.

 

I'm particularly enjoying the operations and people facing side of my role and keen to move into more focussed roles in these spaces after July 2026. Ideally this would be in the animal welfare space as this is where my cause prioritisation lies, but I'm happy to stay in the meta space or 'let the non EA world train me.'

 

What is the most significant recent / current engagement you have with effective altruism? What about this made it the most significant to you?

 

Being Director of EA Oxford.. This has involved a lot of skills building, e.g. problem solving, managing, communication, and promotion. I'm lucky that I get to spend a lot of my time in 1-1 discussions about object level ideas and people's careers.  Alongside this I organised a CEA sponsored student summit.

 

What are you hoping to get out of, or offer, at EAGxAmsterdam? *

My current work contract ends in July so I'm excited to explore future options in meta-work or the animal welfare space, particularly in people operations or entrepreneurship.

 

My goals include:

- Ask 3 people in operations more generally about how I can upskill

- Talk to 3 people in recruitment or people operations to ask what their work is like day to day and how to break into the space

 

What I hope to offer:

- Can hopefully provide advice to less experienced group organisers,

- Can hopefully support other attendees from EA Oxford both logistically and emotionally

 

Apply now! Use this link or this reference so they know you came from me!

Referral code: AVi5BO20

FAQ

  • What should I wear? 

Whatever you’re most comfortable in! Hoodies and jeans are very common, and they provide merch (t-shirts!)

  • How can I be sure it’s for me? 

Let’s chat- just book in here (no need to reach out or ask for permission or anything).

  • But what about exams?

The timing is always really annoying, but I’ve never regretted going.

You can always apply, get in, and turn it down if you have an exam immediately after. Even then, given that’s over a weekend and you can just go for 1-day, it’s still probably worth it. 

  • What’s the difference between EAG and EAGx?

EAGxs are smaller, locally organised and are generally easier to get into. EAGs are the real deal. 

  • Should I apply?

It takes ~20 mins, you can easily apply again if you’re rejected, and applying doesn’t commit you to going.