ZEW/MIFE team wins “Best Scientific Analysis Award 2023”

The prize for the best academic work was once again given to a team supported by ZEW Mannheim along with the Mannheim Institute for Financial Education (MIFE). At the YES! – Young Economic Solutions competition, one of the largest school competitions in Germany tackling the economic, societal and ecological issues of the future, the rankings are decided by the students themselves. Additionally, the “Best Scientific Analysis Award” honours the team which develops the best solution from a scientific perspective. This award is decided by a jury of academic experts.

ZEW and MIFE congratulate the St. Michael Schwäbisch Hall Gymnasium, who won the “Best Scientific Analysis Award” for their approach towards the gamified learning platform “Cash Coach – Unlock your financial potential”. The teenagers developed their project idea based on the topic “How to make financial education attractive for young people” from Marius Cziriak (ZEW Mannheim) and Manuel Vogler (University of Mannheim), who are both employees of the Mannheim Institute for Financial Education (MIFE). They are now able to polish these ideas in collaboration with their researchers for publication in the renowned economic policy journal “Wirtschaftsdienst”.

In the YES! – Young Economic Solutions  school competition, the best twelve teams out of 60 competed from 18 to 20 September in Hamburg. Together with experts in the areas of politics, economics and society, students discussed proposed solutions on various topics ranging from logistics, the supply chain, financial education, animal welfare and educational equity.  Federal Minister of Economics Affairs Habeck did not miss the opportunity to express his support with a greeting at the beginning of the event and to encourage the young people in their proposals.

ZEW and MIFE congratulate all the winners of the 2023 contest. The winning teams will be honoured at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action in Berlin in December.

For the next round of competition in 2024, ZEW researchers will be involved with various topics:

• Dr. Anna Straubinger and Tim Kalmey (Environmental and Climate Economics): “Transportation Changes in the Land of the Car – How can sustainable mobility succeed?” (in German)
• Dr. Björn Fischer-Weckemann (Labour Markets and Social Insurance): “Grandma, Grandpa, and Co – How can we can ensure the care of elder relatives into the future?”  (in German)                                    
• Dr. Bastian Krieger, Lena Füner and Linus Strecke (Economics of Innovation and Industrial Dynamics): “How can public procurement support market entry for start-ups?” (in German)