Team Bangladesh shines at World Economics Cup 2021
World Economics Cup (WEC) is an international education initiative that intends to empower the next generation of leaders in the economics field and develop their international network. It is a pure economics competition with multiple-choice questions about basic economics concepts, material-based questions based on on-site economics learning, and the students' innovative thinking and problem-solving skills for real-world problems.
Team Bangladesh's Abrar Jamil from St Joseph Higher Secondary School, Armeen Ahmed from Sunbeams, Raphael J Solaiman from Sunnydale, Syed Muntasir Tashdid from Scholastica and Md Tanjim Hossain and Zareef Shafquat Arpon from Mastermind, ranked 8th in WEC 2021. Abrar and Zareef bagged the gold and silver medals respectively, while the other team members were awarded with bronze medals.
The questions were based on topics such as neoclassical economics, Keynesian economics, industrial organisation and behavioural economics. Most of the questions tested the participants' ability to apply economic theories in real life scenarios through their analytical and mathematical proficiency.
The competition had three smaller segments. The first segment consisted of two written questions. The second segment was based on MCQs under two categories, deep fundamentals and deep comprehension. The third segment featured a case study, based on which participants were asked to prepare a presentation.
The selection procedure for team Bangladesh started in March 2021 through a preliminary exam. The shortlisted candidates were invited to the national round of MCQs and essay questions. The top-performers were then selected for the national camp, where they attended lectures on finance, project planning, and game theory. The final team was selected after another exam and a case study.
The event, scheduled to be held in China, was conducted online. Participants sat for the exam in front of an artificial-intelligence based proctoring service. "The exams were very strictly invigilated. It was forbidden to use anything other than a blank paper that we had to show the invigilator before the exam commenced. If we even clicked on another tab on our device or suspiciously looked in a direction away from the blank paper, a warning pop-up would appear on the website," Zareef explained.
The participants faced several problems while interacting with each other virtually, especially during the team presentation, which was case study-based. Nevertheless, they overcame the hurdles and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Team Bangladesh also extended their gratitude to their coach Akhter Ahmed and President of the Bangladesh Economics Olympiad Md Al-Amin Parvez, for their guidance.
The author is a medical student and a freelance journalist who likes reading, scribbling, and blogging. Email: [email protected].
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