Best Scientific Analysis Award Goes to ZEW/MIFE Team

All that dedication paid off: one of the student teams mentored by ZEW, the University of Mannheim and MIFE (Mannheim Institute for Financial Education) achieved success at Germany’s biggest high school economics competition. The team from the Gymnasium St. Michael Schwäbisch Hall received the 2023 Best Scientific Analysis Award for their project titled “CashCoach – Unlock your financial potential”.

The school team devised a solution for the issue “Attraktive Finanzbildung für junge Leute – wie geht das?” (“How to make financial education attractive for young people”), supported throughout the process by ZEW economist Marius Cziriak and Manuel Vogler from the University of Mannheim. Both researchers are also part of the MIFE. The award ceremony took place on 7 December 2023 in Berlin at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), which sponsors the competition. The best scientific analysis was selected by a jury of experts. As part of the prize, the young economists’ innovative idea has also already been published in the economic journal Wirtschaftsdienst. What a great honour and privilege for these aspiring economists!

The YES! competition prizes were awarded to the winning teams by the Parliamentary State Secretary of the BMWK, Michael Kellner. The school teams were eager to take the opportunity to discuss their ideas with political representatives on site at the BMWK, as well as how these ideas could be developed further.

ZEW extends congratulations to everyone involved and looks forward to the next round of competition, which includes a variety of topics:

Topics in 2024

• Grandma, grandpa, and co – How can we can ensure the care of elder relatives in the future?” (in German)
  from Dr. Björn Fischer-Weckemann, ZEW
• “Transportation changes in the land of the car – How can sustainable mobility succeed? (in German)
  from Dr. Anna Straubinger and Tim Kalmey, ZEW
• How can public procurement support market entry for start-ups?” (in German)
  from Dr. Bastian Krieger, Lena Füner and Linus Strecke, ZEW