The international final of the V4 Economic Olympics ended with a Czech success and a beautiful Hungarian performance on Friday. Due to the results of the written round on Wednesday, Emese Mezei, a student of the BGSZC Gergely Berzeviczy Technical School of Economics, got to the Friday oral round. Finally, Emese reached 7th among the top ten students in the international final of the Economic Olympics.
Secondary school students from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland competed in the international final of the Economics Olympiad, which culminated on 20 November 2020. Each country was represented by five students who had already successfully completed the national rounds. Otakar Kořínek from Gymnázium Nový BORG in Czech Republic won the Best Young Economist of the Visegrád Four Award. Jakub Laszkowski from Poland won second place, Mateusz Gil from Poland won third place.
„I really enjoy economics, it is my favourite subject, so the victory in the International Economics Olympiad means a lot to me. The exam part of the final was very hard, especially during the oral exam I was very nervous. During my preparation for the final I focused on the recommended literature and I read many various economic things happening in the world, which helped me a lot,“ said Otakar Kořínek, who is also a founding member of economic club ECONET, which brings together students interested in economics and finance.
This year’s final, which was sponsored by a Nobel Laureate and Professor of Economics and Business at New York University, Thomas J. Sargent, took place online due to the current situation. Competitors first passed a written test and then they demonstrated their knowledge in front of a committee composed of important personalities in economics in the following oral part.
The final included an online conference on the topic of ‘Recovery of the Visegrád Four from an Economic Shock’. Those interested in the conference were hosted by Mojmír Hampl, a member of the INEV Board of Directors and a former member of the Bank Board of the Czech National Bank. The members of the committee of the Economics Olympiad international final also took part in the discussion.
The International Economics Olympiad is organized by the Institute of Economic Education (INEV). The final was organized in cooperation with the Hungarian Economic Association and the International Visegrád Fund. “The Economics Olympiad is the biggest competition of its kind. I am pleased that it is successfully expanding to other countries, such as Greece and China. It creates a platform for international cooperation in the field of economic and financial education of secondary school students, the aim of which is to raise awareness of these topics among young people,” Martina Bacíková, INEV founder and Director, said.